Looking at Europe, Norway could generate a 10% trade surplus, despite falling oil prices. However, the Global X MSCI Norway 30 ETF (NYSEArca: NORW) has weakened 1.0% this year and declined 22.0% over the past year due to its energy exposure, which is 30.9% of the fund’s overall weight.
Even though Switzerland has seen its trade surplus dip from double-digit numbers to a forecasted surplus of 8.3% of GDP as its franc currency appreciates against the euro, the iShares MSCI Switzerland Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWL) has increased 7.3% year-to-date.
Eurozone markets will stand to benefit and see exports rise as the euro currency continues to depreciate, making it cheaper for foreign markets to buy the European goods. Among the largest excess exporters, Netherlands and Germany rank among the top Eurozone countries. The iShares MSCI Netherlands ETF (NYSEArca: EWN) has gained 8.4% year-to-date. Additionally, with Germany’s DAX being the best developed market equity benchmark in the world this year, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEArca: HEWG), Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DBGR) and the WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NasdaqGM: DXGE) have all jumped over 20% year-to-date. [Explosive Growth for Single-Country ETFs]
For more information on the international markets, visit our global ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.