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United States Oil Fund LP (USO) Sharpe Ratio: 2.04

ETF · Currency in USD · Last updated Jun 6, 2026

The United States Oil Fund, LP (USO) is an exchange-traded commodity pool whose investment objective is for the daily changes in its net asset value to reflect the daily changes in the spot price of light sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, as measured by changes in the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract (the near-month NYMEX WTI light sweet crude oil futures contract that rolls into the next-month contract over a five-day period). To mitigate the impact of contango and front-month volatility (notably after the April 2020 oil-price dislocation), USO holds a mix of near-month and longer-dated WTI crude oil futures rather than a pure front-month position. USO is sponsored and managed by United States Commodity Funds LLC (USCF) and was the first U.S. commodity ETF based on crude oil, launched in April 2006.

USO's Sharpe Ratio of 2.04 indicates that for each unit of volatility, it generates 2.04 units of excess return above the risk-free rate. The ratio is calculated using historical daily returns over the past 12 months (as of Jun 6, 2026).

Sharpe uses total volatility (standard deviation) which includes both upside and downside price movements, making it useful for comparing risk-adjusted returns across different assets.

USO Sharpe Ratio Rank

USO Sharpe Ratio Rank: 62.462
Above Average

USO ranks above 62.4% of all investments in our database based on Sharpe Ratio over the past 12 months, indicating above-average returns relative to volatility. Securities are ranked from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

What moves the rank

  • Strong returns with low total volatility → Higher rank
  • High volatility (both upside and downside) → Lower rank
  • Consistent returns → Higher rank than volatile returns of same magnitude
  • Sharp drawdowns increase volatility → Lower rank

What you can do with this information

  • Above-average risk-adjusted returns with room for improvement
  • Compare against category peers to gauge relative positioning
  • Monitor for movement toward top tier or decline toward median
  • Consider pairing with top-tier holdings to improve portfolio efficiency

USO Sharpe Ratio Market Positioning

The chart shows USO's Sharpe Ratio relative to all ETFs on our platform, with color zones indicating percentile rankings. Higher ratios indicate better risk-adjusted returns.

  • Red zone (bottom 25%): 0.81 or lower
  • Yellow zone (middle 50%): 0.81 to 2.19
  • Green zone (top 25%): 2.19 or higher
  • Top 1%: 7.18+
  • Median: 1.55 — half of all investments score higher

How it compares to other similar ETFs

The table compares United States Oil Fund LP's Sharpe Ratio with other ETFs in the Oil & Gas category across multiple time periods, showing how USO's risk-adjusted performance compares to similar funds.

Data shows 1-, 5-, and 10-year periods, plus each fund's all-time average, as of Jun 6, 2026.

SymbolName1Y Sharpe Ratio5Y Sharpe Ratio10Y Sharpe RatioAll Time Sharpe Ratio
UGAUnited States Gasoline Fund LP2.19
DBEInvesco DB Energy Fund2.18
DBOInvesco DB Oil Fund2.10
USOUnited States Oil Fund LP2.04
BNOUnited States Brent Oil Fund LP2.00
OILKProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil Strategy ETF1.87
USLUnited States 12 Month Oil Fund LP1.84
UNGUnited States Natural Gas Fund LP-0.50
UNLUnited States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund LP-0.80
PBOGPortfolio Building Block Integrated Oil & Gas and Exploration & Production Index ETF—

S&P 500 Index

How to choose period

Historical Sharpe Ratio

The chart shows USO's rolling Sharpe ratio over time compared to your chosen benchmark. Rising trends indicate improving returns relative to total volatility, while declining trends may signal deteriorating risk-adjusted performance or increased volatility. Use multiple timeframes to distinguish short-term fluctuations from long-term patterns.

Identify market cycles by observing when USO consistently outperforms (line above benchmark), underperforms (below benchmark), or aligns with the benchmark.

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