Stock Questions, Easy Oil Investing?

Posted on Mon 25th Aug, 2008 12:00:26 PM

Is there an easy way to invest in oil if I think the price per barrel is going to continue to go up?

The easiest and perhaps most common way investors can bet that oil will go up is through buying into the United States Oil Fund (USO). USO is an exchange traded fund or ETF which is similar to a mutual fund except it trades exactly like a stock.

ETFs have grown to become extremely popular over the recent years and are a fantastic alternative to buying a whole index. USO has a performance that corresponds to the price of Texas light sweet crude and has traded publicly since April of 2006.

For those who want to buy barrels directly there is in fact a way to do so. A minimum of purchase of 10,000 barrels is required and the full order must be shipped off by the buyer at the time of purchase. A standard barrel of oil contains 42 gallons of which just over 23 gallons can be refined.

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