ProFunds Group is launching the first family of exchange traded funds (ETFs) within the United States that gives exposure to commodities, the euro or the yen. There is leveraged commodities and currency exposure in exchange traded notes (ETNs), but not ETFs - until now.

ProShares is the largest provider of the leveraged or short ETF, and their funds will begin trading on the NYSE Arca today. Gold and silver benchmarked funds will begin trading in a few weeks.

Currency and commodities have been among the biggest stories this year, as the price of food, oil and gas and gold shot way up, then tumbled back down. Investors have not only been seeking to get exposure to these segments of the market, but have shown interest in maximizing that exposure.

The U.S. Dollar and the Japanese yen both tumbled after the recent Citigroup Inc. (C) news. The news of the rescue for the credit giant will boost the demand for the carry trade, in the near future, according to Terry Balkas for FX Street.

The ProShares Funds are launched during a stable time for the gold, as the Q4 demand for the metal will remain at around 843 tonnes. The tone is festive and investors are sticking to the safe haven after the 10% dropoff in demand last year, reports Lewa Pardomuan for Mineweb. Brisk jewelry sales in India during the Hindu festival of lights in mid-October also helped fuel demand. The jewelry aspect of gold accounts for 60% of total demand for the precious metal. Gold prices fell in October, in one of the worst months for the metal since 1983. The stronger dollar was to blame.

Tags: Energy, Gold, Japanese Yen, Oil, Precious Metals

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