LTP Trade Finance IndexÖ - September performance update

The LTP Trade Finance Index - the independent total return index covering the trade finance asset class - was like all financial indices dominated in the month of September by the consequences of the US crisis. Renewed fears of global recession prompted two half point cuts in short-term US interest rates, of which 92 basis points were reflected in US$ LIBOR rates during the calendar month. This decisive move in interest rates generated a monthly capital gain of 0.87%, by far the highest recorded in 2001. Indeed, overall credit spreads on trade finance assets hardly moved, with a slight widening in Argentina and Brazil offset by tightening in Russia. The major South American economies...