SPY vs USO: Correlation
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and United States Oil Fund (USO) show a near-zero relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is -0.07.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and USO?
On 3 years of weekly data the SPY/USO correlation comes out at -0.07, near zero, meaning they move largely independently. The past 12 months show a weaker link (-0.27) than the 3-year average (-0.07). The 5-year figure is 0.05, and annualized covariance runs at -42.0 %².
Within SPY's tracked universe of 4755 assets, USO comes in at #4716 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months USO outperformed by 53.5 percentage points (+20.6% for SPY against +74.1% for USO). Do not treat this figure as fixed: across three years the rolling one-year correlation ranged all the way from -0.31 to 0.36. Risk is not evenly split, since USO carries 2.7 times the volatility of the other side.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
SPY vs USO: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | USO (United States Oil Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +74.1% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +168.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 39.4% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | -0.20 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -32.5% |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | – |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | ETF · Commodities |
On the fund side, SPY sits in the Large Blend category at State Street Investment Management, with $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SPY | USO |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | +29.0% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | -4.9% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | +13.4% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | -8.5% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +88.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are SPY and USO good diversifiers for each other?
Yes: at -0.07, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and USO?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: -0.07 over 3 years, with -0.27 over the last year and 0.05 over 5 years.
Is USO a good diversifier for SPY?
Yes: at -0.07, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
What does a correlation of -0.07 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, -0.07 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/spy-vs-uso.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-uso/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · USO correlations
