UCO is a highly risky, leveraged ETF. Even during recent oil price spikes, UCO investors likely lost money due to the fund's structure and information lag. Long-term returns for UCO are poor.
Despite what may seem like an attractive price level for WTI crude, which was trading at US$61.30/bbl at the time of writing, we are staying away from this trade. Historically, we have been bullish on UCO whenever WTI crude drops to around $70/bbl, but current risks outweigh potential gains. Unless the Trump administration manages to seal major trade deals from the upcoming negotiations, business activity and consumer spending will likely begin to stall.
I recommend holding the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF due to expected oil market surplus and increased global supply, which should pull prices down. The ETF aims to replicate twice the daily return of the Balanced WTI Crude Oil Index, making it suitable for short-term movements, not conservative investors. Oil prices have risen over 9% this year, driven by sanctions and cold weather, but the imbalance between supply and demand will likely stabilize prices.
ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF is leveraged. Holding this ETF overnight or longer is not recommended due to the high volatility and low visibility of commodity prices. The fund's holdings and the potential for rapid, significant losses suggest it's suited only for highly trained professionals.
WTI crude oil prices have yet again dropped to levels that have consistently provided profitable opportunities for establishing a 2X leveraged bullish position using UCO. Since we initiated coverage of UCO in December 2022, all three of our bullish trading calls have resulted in profitable gains of 5.3%, 29%, and 15.8%. With WTI crude futures rebounding and completing the formation of a triangle pattern on the charts, we now see a technical rebound that could take prices higher towards US$84.60/bbl.
Our tactical trade on the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF has once again surpassed our expectations, delivering an amplified 15.8% gain in less than three weeks. WTI crude prices are currently retesting the US$80.60/bbl level. Although we view a retest as a perfectly normal price action, we are taking profit given how rapidly the market has rebounded. We are seeing evidence of exhaustion in correlated risk-on assets, including U.S. equities and other commodities. Therefore, the risk of a sharp pullback in prices has become more pronounced.
Following the sharp sell-off over the past two trading sessions, we now see an imminent technical rebound in WTI crude that should present an attractive trading opportunity. Taking advantage of UCO's 2X leveraged exposure to WTI crude, we have previously demonstrated how we amplified returns on our bullish view in December 2022 and again in June 2023. Once again, we see current levels on WTI crude as a compelling opportunity to re-establish our bullish view. We expect prices to rebound forcefully over the next 1-3 months.