IslamicFinance.de

Investors in Islamic bonds are losing money for the first time in more than three years in the second quarter as concern that the US Federal Reserve will withdraw monetary stimulus upended a rally that returned 33 per cent. Redemptions from emerging-market bond funds hit a 90-week high in the week ending June 19. Sukuk had benefited from a boom in Islamic finance, with Ernst & Young forecasting a surge in the industry's assets to US$1.8 trillion this year from US$1.3 billion in 2011. In January, syariah- compliant yields fell to a record low before a 57 per cent jump to date, linked largely to speculation that the Fed will scale back its bond buying as the US economy improves.