Volatility-linked products were back atop last week’s list of top performing exchange-traded products (ETPs) following more uncertainty in financial markets. Volatility-linked products fluctuate with changes in investor expectations about future stock market volatility and tend to rise when investor confidence plummets. Last week, these "fear-trackers" soared as poor US employment data, worries about the eurozone debt crisis and data pointing to slowing manufacturing in China reverberated across financial markets. As investors sought to pare back risk, "safe-haven" assets, such as gold, rose due to increased investor flows.
ETPs tracking crude oil and natural gas fell steeply last week as supplies expanded while demand fell back. Investors interpreted rising unemployment in the US and other poor economic data as a signal that the global economic expansion may be slowing or even reversing. In a recessionary climate, demand for crude oil and natural gas is expected to fall due to decreased economic activity. At the same time, however, supply appears to be rising steadily. Last week, the US Energy Information Administration announced that US crude supplies grew by 2.2 million barrels, despite expectations for an increase of only 100,000. Meanwhile, Iraqi crude oil production has recently begun to boom as crude oil exports have risen 20% this year alone helping to take some of the sting out the reduction in supply related to Iranian oil sanctions. Here are the details for last week's best and worst performing ETPs: