Oil Rises, Metals Fall: 2026's Commodity ETF Winners

Commodity ETFs have been strong performers in 2026, but it's not what you might expect. Oil has led the pack, with USO, which tracks front-month light sweet crude futures, returning a whopping 103.9% year to date and about 88.4% over the trailing year.

This is a futures vehicle rather than a physical one; it charges 0.60% and holds about $1.8 billion in assets. Energy's strength flowed straight into diversified baskets, which typically carry heavy energy weightings.

PDBC (Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF) spreads exposure across energy, metals and agriculture and is up about 43.8% year to date and 49.3% over 12 months. It issues a standard 1099 tax form rather than the K-1 that complicates many commodity futures funds.

Meanwhile, precious metals have taken a backseat in 2026. Gold's big move came earlier, with GLD (SPDR Gold Shares) essentially flat in 2026 and up about 0.1% year to date, though it still shows a 24.7% trailing-year gain and roughly 30% annualized over three years.

Uranium ETFs have also cooled off this year, with URA (Global X Uranium ETF) down roughly 13% over the past three months. The fund holds uranium miners and nuclear-fuel-cycle companies, so it tracks the broader nuclear theme and equity sentiment.