Natural gas strategies rise while China-focused funds take a plunge.
A roster of natural gas-focused exchange-traded products were among the best-performing funds in the past week ended Thursday, March 14, with the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Total Return ETN (NYSEArca: GAZ) leading the pack with gains of more than 8 percent, as natural gas prices soared on positive inventory data.
The $1.06 billion United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNG) also gained 6.75 percent in five days, while the First Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas ETF (NYSEArca: FCG) and the United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNL) each rallied 5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.
The latest Energy Information Administration inventory report helped fuel the upward momentum. The EIA data showed natural gas in storage last week dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years, according to various reports.
The performance came as the S&P 500 rose a bit more than 1 percent in the same period.
On the flip side, several China-focused ETFs found themselves among the worst-performing funds in the week as investors expressed concern over what many see as signs of flagging growth in China.
Indeed, five of the bottom 10 performers in the past week were Chinese equities strategies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (NYSEArca: CHII) slipped 5.5 percent, while the EGShares China Infrastructure ETF (NYSEArca: CHXX) bled 4.7 percent of value.
Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| GAZ | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Total Return ETN | 8.14% | 700,390 | 40.30 |
| SMIN | iShares MSCI India Small Cap | 6.80% | 20,013 | 4.60 |
| UNG | United States Natural Gas | 6.75% | 18,014,150 | 1,065.15 |
| GLDX | Global X Gold Explorers | 5.72% | 677,165 | 36.58 |
| BAL | iPath Dow Jones-UBS Cotton Total Return ETN | 5.57% | 140,650 | 48.20 |
| VIXH | First Trust CBOE S&P 500 VIX Tail Hedge | 5.11% | 11,280 | 6.27 |
| FCG | First Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas | 5.03% | 3,884,014 | 433.87 |
| CHOC | iPath Pure Beta Cocoa ETN | 4.94% | 5,112 | 4.79 |
| GASZ | ETRACS Natural Gas Futures Contango ETN | 4.55% | 93,966 | 11.86 |
| UNL | United States 12 Month Natural Gas | 4.39% | 279,150 | 47.38 |
Bottom 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded
| Ticker | Name | Weekly Performance | Weekly Volume | AUM ($, mm) |
| VIXY | ProShares VIX Short-Term | -6.44% | 10,555,326 | 170.74 |
| VIIX | VelocityShares VIX Short Term ETN | -6.42% | 2,945,984 | 21.07 |
| KWT | Market Vectors Solar Energy | -6.40% | 53,279 | 12.23 |
| VXX | iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN | -6.38% | 247,469,801 | 1,269.78 |
| TAN | Guggenheim Solar | -5.97% | 916,363 | 68.93 |
| CHII | Global X China Industrials | -5.52% | 21,005 | 4.74 |
| CHXX | EGShares China Infrastructure | -4.77% | 27,896 | 13.34 |
| ECNS | iShares MSCI China Small Cap | -4.24% | 71,456 | 33.85 |
| CHIM | Global X China Materials | -4.05% | 2,973 | 2.54 |
| HAO | Guggenheim China Small Cap | -3.97% | 4,382,274 | 340.48 |
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.
