The price of crude oil and its exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been creeping up and there are signs that indicate the commodity could very well continue to rise.

Most recently, crude has soared north of $80/barrel and Lee Loweel of Investment U states that the price could continue to rise as hedge funds that have been sitting on the sidelines for months begin  to find a home in the oil markets. (How crude oil ETFs work).

Additionally, there are plenty of signs indicating that the U.S. economy is finally getting out a recession, emerging and frontier markets are expanding, growing and developing exponentially and the U.S. dollar continues to remain volatile. (How to play a weak dollar).

With this in mind, in addition to some concerns of supply and demand, crude has a few factors supporting that a sustainable price could be be attained. (Factors benefiting oil ETFs). There are several ways to gain exposure to the oil market with ETFs, including through the use of funds that trade futures or hold stocks of oil companies.

For more stories on crude oil, visit our oil category.

• United States Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO): up 23.3% year-to-date

• SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (NYSEArca: XOP): up 35.9% year-to-date

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

Tags: Commodity ETFs, Energy, Oil, Oil & Gas Exploration, USO, XOP