EM Debt Flows Firm Up

EM debt funds saw $152m inflows in the week to July 11, according to EPFR Global. Funds dedicated to local currency or a mix of local and foreign currency accounted for $55m, less than in previous weeks. EM debt funds monitored by EPFR have just over 51% of their allocation in LatAm, mostly Brazil (16%). Returns for EM fixed income funds meanwhile, were 0.20% in the July 5-12 period, taking them to a 2.74% gain year-to-date, Lipper data shows. This is more than the 0.08% average for the week in fixed income and greater than the 1.22% rise for 2007 so far. According to EPFR, the cash position of EM funds fell to 4.2% at the end of May, from 5.5% the month before.