Uranium-focused ETFs shine through with sizable gains in a week when sluggish market action landed the Dow only marginally higher.
A pair of uranium-focused ETFs were among the best-performing funds for the week ended Thursday, Aug. 16, as global nuclear energy demand seems poised to grow despite Japan’s nuclear disaster a year a half ago, all while supplies are tightening.
The $152 million Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEArca: URA) raked in 8.4 percent in gains in the past week, topping performance charts at a time when the Dow Jones industrial average struggled to post a 0.6 gain amid lackluster market action.
The Market Vectors Uranium + Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSEArca: NLR) was also a top performer, with gains of 4.5 percent in the week. NLR has $82 million in assets.
On another front, the iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund (NYSEArca: EWP) was again among the week’s best-performing funds, tagging on gains of nearly 6 percent, as the market continued to look for a positive resolution to the ongoing eurozone crisis.
The fund has now rallied nearly 15 percent in the past month alone, as the market grows confident European policymakers will do everything in their power to protect the euro and help troubled economies such as Spain's and Italy's.
Bottom Dwellers
On the flip side, natural gas strategies and U.S. Treasury funds were among the worst-performing ETFs in the Thursday-to-Thursday period.
Cooler weather forecasts for much of the U.S. pressured natural gas prices in the past week, as milder temperatures lower demand for natural-gas-powered cooling systems. The fall in prices helped push the United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNG) lower by 6.6 percent in a five-day period. Meanwhile, the Teucrium Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: NAGS) dropped 5.2 percent.
U.S. Treasurys saw yields hit a three-month high after prices dropped for five consecutive days. Yield moves inversely to prices. In the 10-year notes, yields hit 1.80 percent midweek—its highest level since mid-May.
The Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF (NYSEArca: EDV) lost nearly 5 percent of its value in the period, while the Pimco 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSEArca: ZROZ) gave back 6.3 percent in gains.
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| URA | Global X Uranium | 8.44% | 704,381 | 152.28 |
| TDV | db-X 2040 Target Date | 6.10% | 5,953 | 30.87 |
| EWP | iShares MSCI Spain | 5.99% | 2,527,492 | 180.48 |
| GRN | iPath Global Carbon ETN | 5.83% | 15,350 | 1.31 |
| CHEP | QuantShares U.S. Market Neutral Value | 5.14% | 1,222 | 7.33 |
| GREK | Global X FTSE Greece 20 | 4.76% | 39,130 | 8.20 |
| SNDS | Sustainable North American Oil Sands | 4.75% | 32,665 | 2.29 |
| NLR | Market Vectors Uranium + Nuclear Energy | 4.52% | 98,986 | 82.39 |
| XTL | SPDR S&P Telecom | 4.32% | 2,637 | 4.41 |
| NASI | Pax MSCI North American ESG | 4.31% | 5,469 | 10.33 |
Bottom 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| CVOL | C-Tracks Exchange-Traded Notes on the Citi Volatility | -6.64% | 93,176 | 5.66 |
| UNG | United States Natural Gas | -6.59% | 50,610,943 | 1,091.74 |
| ZROZ | PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury | -6.33% | 460,888 | 117.34 |
| JO | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Coffee Total Return ETN | -5.71% | 107,038 | 24.64 |
| NAGS | Teucrium Natural Gas Fund | -5.24% | 40,107 | 3.42 |
| EIPO | ETRACS Next Generation Internet ETN | -5.15% | 114,622 | 5.45 |
| CAFE | iPath Pure Beta Coffee ETN | -5.10% | 14,146 | 1.22 |
| EDV | Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury | -4.97% | 249,739 | 206.33 |
| JJS | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Softs Total Return ETN | -4.85% | 86,682 | 12.55 |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas | -4.81% | 105,341 | 45.44 |
Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.
