The offer price of units in the Wesleyan International Trust fell by 2.06% in the twelve-month period to 31 March 2008. This is after including a total distribution of 0.5592p (i.e. 0.3579p plus 0.2013p for the respective half-years) which has, as usual, been transferred to your capital account.The return of -2.53% excluding the distribution compares favourably with figures of -3.66% and -3.01% (both sterling adjusted) for the FTSE All-World and All-World ex-UK indices respectively.There is no doubt that global equity markets have been through some difficult and volatile times.There were gains in the six months to 30 September 2007 but from July onwards the problems of falling US house prices and defaults on so-called "sub-prime" mortgages ushered in the "credit crunch", forcing banks and other financial institutions to write down the values of many of their assets and in some cases to raise extra capital to shore up depleted balance sheets.Despite the adverse impact of the credit crunch on global economic growth, inflationary pressures have worsened. Oil prices have risen to record levels and increased demand for industrial metals and more recently many agricultural commodities, particularly from emerging markets, has also caused prices to soar.
153.76p
