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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, June 16, 2009– Managed futures traders performed well in May, gaining 2.08% according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year-to- date, the Index remains down 0.54%.
“Commodity markets, led by the energy sector, rallied strongly during the month,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “A weakening US Dollar provided support to the rally and presented a sustained trend that currency traders could profit from.”
All eight of Barclay’s managed futures indices had positive returns in May. Diversified Traders gained 2.61%, Financial and Metals Traders were up 2.43%, Discretionary Traders rose 2.12%, and Systematic Traders gained 1.81%.
“Projections of huge budget deficit increases fueled concerns of a deterioration of the creditworthiness of the US and the UK,” says Waksman. “Hence, short sales of US and European sovereign debt instruments were profitable in May.”
The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest traders, gained 1.34% in May, but is still down 2.49% in 2009.
Click here to view 28 years of Barclay CTA Index data.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends. For more commentary or background, call 641-472-3456 or email swaksman@barclayhedge.com.
BarclayHedge (formerly The Barclay Group) was founded in 1985 and actively tracks more than 6,000 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indexes and eight managed futures indexes.
