June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Currency funds posted the first gain in three months in May as bets against the greenback paid off, according to the Parker FX Index. Funds focusing on foreign exchange rose 0.63 percent last month, after dropping 0.39 percent in April and 0.21 percent in March, according to Parker Global Strategies LLC. Thirty-five of 58 funds reported gains, Stamford, Connecticut-based Parker said in a statement. The U.S. Dollar Index traded on the ICE futures exchange lost 6.4 percent in May, the biggest drop since 1985, as signs of global economic recovery reduced the demand for the greenback as a safe haven. The dollar index tracks the U.S. currency against the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona. “As the dollar plummeted, currency managers that had dollar crosses on during the month performed quite well,” Parker Global said in the statement. Last month’s gain helped the currency funds lift their return this year to 0.32 percent, according to Parker. Funds that tend to be based on computer models, or so- called systematic trading, rose 0.96 percent in May, reducing their losses in 2009 to 0.28 percent, according to Parker. Discretionary traders, who usually make decisions based on economic trends, were up 0.31 percent for the month, and 0.92 percent for the year. The best performer the index tracks gained 6.98 percent last month. Parker didn’t release the name of the fund. The second-best performer returned 5.94 percent. Parker’s index tracks funds in the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Singapore and Australia, with combined assets of $29 billion.

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