Natural gas futures have been gaining momentum on a combination of lower-than-expected inventories and persistently cold weather conditions. [Natural Gas ETFs to Play the Rally]
March started off with no real guidance as sequestration talks came to a standstill and automatic Federal spending cuts started to go into effect.
Nevertheless, stocks remained undeterred, listlessly edging higher with no immediate threat to the economy. As equities moved higher, the Dow broke through its 2007 high and continued to extend its record winning streak on positive economic news.
After 10 consecutive gains in the Dow, the longest streak since 1996, stocks pulled back in mid-March on Eurozone plans to impose sweeping taxes on all Cypriot savings accounts to pay for a bailout. In the last few weeks of March, stocks regained their footing as the Eurozone scrambled to put together a rescue package and positive U.S. economic news buoyed the markets.
Over the first quarter, the worst performing non-leveraged ETFs include C-Tracks on Citi Volatility Index ETN (NYSEArca: CVOL) down 50.1%, VelocityShares Dialy Long VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSEArca: VIIX) down 36.3% and iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEArca: VXX) down 36.1%.
The worst performing non-leveraged ETFs in March include PowerShares DB Base Metals Long ETN (NYSEArca: BDG) down 23.9%, VIIX down 20.8% and CVOL down 20.8%.
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Max Chen contributed to this article.