Have you noticed a possible correlation to the slowing of the economy and the rise of commodity and exchange traded funds (ETFs)?
It’s an interesting point that Dave Fry for ETF Digest makes, and as we dig a little deeper, seems to have some validity. Gold and futures-based oil ETFs have hit record highs lately. The Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH) has been doing well too. Let’s do a quick rundown to see how some of these ETFs are doing year-to-date compared to SPY, which is up 6%:
- United States Oil (USO) – up 16.6%, which invests in futures.
- Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH) – up 32.4%
- streetTracks Gold Shares Fund (GLD) – up 11.0%
- PowerShares DB Gold (DGL) – up 8.7% for the last three months, having launched in January. It invests in futures not the bullion.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.