Today's Major Market Move: NYSE Arca Oil Index Up 14% in October

Of the global equity indexes we track on Pikefin.com, the best performer so far for the month of October has been the NYSE Arca Oil Index which is up 14.5%. The index coming in a close second, which also happens to be petroleum related, is the Oil Service Sector Index, up 14.4%.

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Considering that these 2 indexes are made up primarily of US based petroleum companies, it is not surprising that they are tracking the price of WTI Crude Futures almost exactly. I've also include Brent Futures in the chart as well.

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Here's another chart focusing on just WTI and Brent futures, starting from the beginning of the year. Staring in May a large spread opened up between the 2 and I think many people have been playing the convergence trade (short Brent, long WTI) in the meantime. They've come back together slightly in October, but there still remains a sizable gap.

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