The Best And Worst ETFs Of The Week Amid Fed Relief Rally

The first full trading week of 2015 saw much of the damage from the past week’s selling erased by accommodative words from the Federal Reserve. The latest FOMC statement suggested that the Fed is going to be patient with respect to normalizing monetary policy and hitting inflation targets.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) jumped a combined 3 percent on January 7 and 8 to restore confidence in the fundamental outlook for stocks. The most notable difference in 2015 trading is the uptick in volatility that has accompanied the new calendar year.

The following ETFs represent a sample of the best- and worst-performing funds over the last five trading sessions.

Related Link: 3 Contrarian ETF Ideas For 2015

BEST: Coffee Futures

Caffeine lovers should note that coffee futures ramped sharply this week, with the iPath Bloomberg Coffee Subindex Total Return SM Index (NYSE: JO) gaining more than 14.7 percent. JO tracks liquid coffee futures contracts as traded on the NYMEX exchange.

JO has over $61 million in total assets and charges a 0.75 percent expense ratio. This exchange-traded note also had a very swift move higher in early 2014 as drought conditions and other weather factors weighed on crop forecasts. Early indications signal that coffee futures may once again buck the commodity deflation trend in 2015 as well.

Related Link: NY March Coffee Closes Higher

WORST: Brent Crude Prices

Oil prices were once again in the spotlight for another round of heavy losses. The United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (NYSE: BNO) lost nearly 11 percent this week as this widely traded commodity fell to new 52-week lows. BNO tracks near-month Brent crude oil futures contracts traded on the ICE Futures Exchange.

While West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil is often associated with U.S. well production, Brent crude oil is considered a global benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil markets. BNO fell 49 percent in 2014 and has extended that slide this year. Analysts and traders have speculated about when a low may materialize in this sector, but so far the sellers still have control.