Managed futures gained 0.37 per cent in April, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Profitable opportunities in currencies, commodities and fixed income provided the backdrop that propelled 63 per cent of reporting managers into the win column for April,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Six of Barclay’s eight managed futures indices had positive returns in April.

The Barclay Diversified Traders Index was up 0.54 per cent, currency traders gained 0.53 per cent, systematic traders were up 0.49 per cent, and the Financial & Metals Traders Index rose 0.31 per cent.

“Bond prices in the US were buoyed by the uncertainty in Europe,” says Waksman. ”Similar concerns helped to sustain gains by the US dollar against the Euro for a fifth consecutive month.”

On the losing side, agricultural traders were down 1.52 per cent in April and discretionary traders lost 0.10 per cent.

The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which monitors performance of the largest managed futures funds, gained 0.89 per cent in April.