Gasoline ETF Jumps 5% After Prices Hit Five-Month Low
U.S. Gasoline Fund (UGA) is up more than 5% this week after average gas prices fell below $3.50 a gallon to the lowest level in five months.
Oil and gasoline ETFs were up for the third straight session on Wednesday with investors keeping a close eye on the protests in Egypt. “Time appeared to be running out Wednesday for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy as a deadline passed on a military ultimatum, CNN reports.
UGA and U.S. Oil Fund (USO) were both up over 2% in morning trade. The ETFs are designed to invest in futures contracts.
Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (EGPT) rose for the fifth straight day despite the crisis.
“It’s totally Egypt today,” said Andrew Lebow, a senior vice president at Jefferies Bache, in a Bloomberg report. “When you set a time deadline, it really raises the anxiety level. We’re all watching. If they closed Suez, it would be a major disruption.”
Gasoline prices are rebounding as Americans prepare for the Fourth of July holiday. Crude oil futures traded above $102 a barrel on Wednesday.
Although prices may rise before, during or immediately after the holiday, it would be because of “normal market volatility,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, in a Times Media report.
“It (the price of gasoline) doesn’t have anything to do with the holiday,” he said. “It would be a mere coincidence if prices increased.”
U.S. Gasoline Fund
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