Market Vectors Russia (NYSEArca: RSX) is one of the best-selling ETFs the past week with investors adding more than $300 million to the fund as crude oil prices recover to around $95 a barrel.
The Russia ETF has been volatile in recent weeks after bouncing from its mid-April low.
“Investors are disappointed in the Russian market,” said Alexei Yazikov, head of research at Aton Capital LLC, in a Bloomberg report. “The market has a high dependency on oil prices.”
RSX is down about 9% year to date. The ETF has trended lower since early 2011 and remains well below its pre-crisis high.
The market’s poor performance has weighed on BRIC ETFs that invest in Brazil, Russia, India and China. [Russia ETFs Lag Behind Other BRIC Economies]
Yet some investors are tapping RSX for a recovery in Russian stocks, notes Chris Hempstead, director of ETF execution services at WallachBeth Capital. RSX has gathered net inflows of $327 million since May 9, according to IndexUniverse data.