Currency ETFs Play on the U.S. Dollar

August 30, 2007 at 1:00 pm by Tom Lydon

If the U.S. dollar continues to fall over the next several years, currency exchange traded funds (ETFs) could benefit. Along with currencies, commodities also benefit from the dollar’s decline, so investors who invest in a resource-rich country receive double the benefits. Australia and Canada are good examples, says Dan Dorfman for The New York Sun.

A one-stop currency fund that gives exposure to a number of foreign denominations is the PowerShares DB G10 Currency Harvest Fund (DBV). The currencies included in this ETF are the dollar, the euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, British pound, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone and the Swedish krona. The biggest threat to this ETF would be the unwinding of the yen carry trade, which would hurt the fund’s returns.

Another option is the PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Bearish Fund (UDN). UDN is designed to replicate the performance of going short on the dollar. In other words: The more the dollar declines, the better this ETF performs. Currencies in this ETF include the euro, yen, pound, Canadian dollar, krona and franc.

Tags: EWC, New Zealand Dollar