
Energy ETFs Could Be More Aligned to Equity Markets than Oil
By Rabindra SamantaDec. 4 2020, Updated 10:53 a.m. ET
Correlations
On February 15–22, 2018, energy subsector ETFs’ correlations with US crude oil April futures were:
In the trailing week, OIH rose 0.5%—the only energy ETF on our list that closed in the green. US crude oil futures rose 2.6% during this period. Other energy ETFs like XOP, XLE, and AMLP fell 1.1%, 1.4%, and 4%, respectively, in the past four trading sessions.
Natural gas
On February 15–22, 2018, our list of energy ETFs’ correlations with natural gas April futures were:
- XLE at -82.6%
- XOP at -65.9%
- OIH at -54.2%
- AMLP at -53.2%
During this period, natural gas April futures rose 2.1%.
Broader market
In the trailing week, these four energy ETFs’ correlations with the S&P 500 Index were:
- XLE at 84.6%
- AMLP at 80.9%
- XOP at 61.7%
- OIH at 28.4%
In fact, XLE, AMLP, and XOP closed in the red, which coincided with the 1% fall in the S&P 500 Index in the trailing week. Based on the correlations, these three ETFs might have moved more with the broader market than oil during this period. Oil prices might be a bigger factor for OIH.