1. Changes in the spot price
2. Interest income on uninvested cash
USO’s prospectus warns of such a situation: a negative “roll yield” could cause the net asset value of USO to deviate significantly from crude’s spot price.
The Latest News
Oil has surged above $71/barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking a high for 2009. The threats of weak demand and excess supply have been overshadowed by fears of a weak U.S. dollar, the threat of inflation and the fact that the Commerce Department expects oil consumption to rebound by 2010, making crude extremely attractive.
USO is up 17.7% year-to-date.