You’re our first priority.
Every time.

NerdWallet, Inc. is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide investment advice. NerdWallet does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information in regard to your individual circumstances. Examples are hypothetical, and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific investment issues. Our estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Here is a list of our partners.

Oil ETFs Are Surging On Middle East War News

Oil ETFs are baskets of securities that track the price of oil as a commodity, or contain oil stocks. They are an easy way to invest in oil markets, but they do carry risk.

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

How is this page expert verified?

NerdWallet's content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure the information is as clear and complete as possible.

Alana Benson

Editor & Content Strategist

---

6 years of experience

Expertise

• Investing for beginners
• financial advice
• long-term investing

Alana Benson is an editor who joined NerdWallet in 2019. Historically she has covered a wide variety of investing topics including stocks, socially responsible investing, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, HSAs and financial advice. She is also a frequent contributor to NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast. Alana has appeared on FOX Houston and the "PennyWise" podcast and has been quoted in MarketWatch and The Sun. Before joining NerdWallet, she wrote two books on identity theft and several young adult nonfiction titles. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, MSN, Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch.

Published in

Editor & Content Strategist

Alana Benson is an editor who joined NerdWallet in 2019. Historically she has covered a wide variety of investing topics including stocks, socially responsible investing, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, HSAs and financial advice. She is also a frequent contributor to NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast. Alana has appeared on FOX Houston and the "PennyWise" podcast and has been quoted in MarketWatch and The Sun. Before joining NerdWallet, she wrote two books on identity theft and several young adult nonfiction titles. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, MSN, Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch.

Pamela de la Fuente

Managing Editor

---

24 years of experience

Expertise

• Personal Finance
• Budgeting
• Taxes
• Retirement
• Underrepresented communities

Pamela de la Fuente is a managing editor of NerdWallet's personal finance content. She leads budgeting, money-making, consumer credit and and debt coverage.

Ask her and her talented team about why credit scores matter, how to save money on your grocery bill, finding the right side hustle, how to protect your identity for free and more.

Previously, she led taxes and retirement coverage at NerdWallet.

Pamela joined NerdWallet after working at companies including Hallmark Cards, Sprint Corp. and The Kansas City Star. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Pamela is a thought leader in content diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and finds ways to make every piece of content conversational and accessible to all.

She is a graduate of the Maynard Institute's Maynard 200 program, and the National Association of Black Journalists Executive Leadership Academy. She is a two-time winner of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists' President's Award. She was also founding co-chair of NerdWallet's Nerds of Color employee resource group.

Managing Editor

Pamela de la Fuente is a managing editor of NerdWallet's personal finance content. She leads budgeting, money-making, consumer credit and and debt coverage.

Ask her and her talented team about why credit scores matter, how to save money on your grocery bill, finding the right side hustle, how to protect your identity for free and more.

Previously, she led taxes and retirement coverage at NerdWallet.

Pamela joined NerdWallet after working at companies including Hallmark Cards, Sprint Corp. and The Kansas City Star. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Pamela is a thought leader in content diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and finds ways to make every piece of content conversational and accessible to all.

She is a graduate of the Maynard Institute's Maynard 200 program, and the National Association of Black Journalists Executive Leadership Academy. She is a two-time winner of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists' President's Award. She was also founding co-chair of NerdWallet's Nerds of Color employee resource group.

Investing in oil is typically reserved for advanced commodity traders — if you're trying to invest in the commodity itself. But if you're just looking to gain exposure to oil, and to perhaps try to profit from its big swings, oil exchange-traded funds may be a better approach.

What are oil ETFs?

Oil ETFs are baskets of securities that either track the price of oil as a commodity or contain oil stocks. Oil ETFs give investors easy access to a commodity that’s difficult to own and store. But oil prices can swing drastically in either direction and can be closely correlated to global and geopolitical events, making it a complex and often risky investment.

» Want to know more? Learn how to invest in oil

Oil ETF Performance

The oil ETFs we track are commodities ETFs, meaning they track the price of oil through benchmarks such as the Brent Crude Oil or West Texas Intermediate benchmarks. These categories of ETFs do not hold oil company stocks. Our screen also may include oil ETNs (more on that below).

In late February 2026, the U.S. and Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran, citing concerns about its nuclear weapons program. Iran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones at more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries that it perceives as Western-aligned. Five out of the twelve member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have been attacked by one side or the other in the conflict, and major oil shipping routes, such as the Strait of Hormuz, have been closed to commercial traffic, causing oil prices to jump upward. This has pulled up the returns of many oil ETFs.

The best-performing oil & gasoline ETF by one-year return is United States Oil Fund (USO), which is up 34.78%.

Ticker

Company

Performance (Year)

USO

United States Oil Fund

34.78%

DBO

Invesco DB Oil Fund

29.47%

OILK

ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil ETF

10.18%

Source: Finviz. Data is current as of June 22, 2026 and is intended for informational purposes only.

» Curious about oil stocks? Explore how to buy oil stocks

What are oil ETNs?

Oil ETNs, or exchange-traded notes, are similar to oil ETFs in that they are both traded on securities exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day, similar to stocks. A major difference between ETFs and ETNs is that ETFs are investment companies registered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and ETFs actually own the underlying assets that you, as an investor, own a part of. ETNs do not own an underlying portfolio of assets, and instead are made up of unsecured debt obligations. ETNs are generally considered riskier investments than ETFs.

» Ready to get started? Check out the best brokers for ETF investors

Brokerage firms

on Charles Schwab's website

on E*TRADE's website

on Vanguard's website

on Fidelity's website

Other related ETFs:

Best-Performing Energy ETFs

What Are The Best Commodity ETFs?

The Best-Performing Clean Energy ETFs

Helpful resources