UPDATE 1-Commodities investments drop $6 bln in April-BarCap

* Commodity AUM at $429 billion at the end of April
* Commodities drop by $6 billion in April
* Precious metal outflows at $4 billion in April

May 17 (Reuters) - Total assets under management (AUM) in commodities fell
by $6 billion to $429 billion in April mainly due to outflows in precious
metals, Barclays Capital said on Thursday.
The precious metals and energy sectors led the outflows in April with $4
billion and $2 billion drops, respectively, while agriculture AUM remained
unchanged from March.
"Following a relatively strong start to the year commodity investment flows
remained in negative territory in April," Barclays said in a note.
"The speed of the recent commodity price decline suggests markets are
pricing in a further deterioration in the growth outlook though the incoming
data suggests a stabilization rather than any further moves lower," it added.
Following is a breakdown of AUM in commodities in billions of dollars,
according to Barclays Capital:

Apr-12 Mar-12 Q1-12 Q4-11 2011 2010
Total 429 435 435 399 399 380
Precious metals 201 205 205 179 179 153
Base metals 19.9 19.8 19.8 17.8 17.8 18.3
Agriculture 94 94 94 88 88 95
Energy 114 116 116 114 114 114