Investors have withdrawn a record $70bn from emerging market bond funds this year, in a sign that soaring interest rates in advanced economies and the strong dollar are heaping pressure on developing countries.
Investors took $4.2bn out of EM bond funds in the past week alone, according to an analysis by JPMorgan of data from EPFR Global, a fund flow monitor — bringing the annual outflows to the highest level since the US bank began recording the data in 2005.
The investor flight underscores how emerging markets are facing mounting risks from surging interest rates in developed markets, which make the typically high yields on EM debt look less attractive. Powerful gains in the greenback also make it more expensive for EM countries to service dollar denominated debt and increase the cost of importing commodities, which are often priced in the US currency.