UCIB vs USO: Correlation
How closely do ETRACS UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index (UCIB) and United States Oil Fund (USO) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.48, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are UCIB and USO?
Over the past 3 years, UCIB and USO moved with a correlation of 0.48, which is moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.45 over 1 year against 0.48 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.62, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 334.9 %².
USO is one of the assets that tracks UCIB most closely: it ranks #2 out of the 11 assets we track against UCIB. The last year tells two different stories: USO led by 35.6 percentage points, +38.5% for UCIB against +74.1% for USO. Risk is not evenly split, since USO carries 2.2 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.
UCIB vs USO: side by side
| UCIB (ETRACS UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index) | USO (United States Oil Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +38.5% | +74.1% |
| 5-year return | +88.1% | +168.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 17.7% | 39.4% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.28 | -0.20 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.7% | -32.5% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · Commodities |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | UCIB | USO |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +18.2% | +29.0% |
| 2023 | -2.3% | -4.9% |
| 2024 | +6.6% | +13.4% |
| 2025 | +9.0% | -8.5% |
| 2026 | +32.0% | +88.0% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are UCIB and USO good diversifiers for each other?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.48 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between UCIB and USO?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between UCIB and USO is 0.48 over 3 years, 0.45 over 1 year and 0.62 over 5 years.
Is USO a good diversifier for UCIB?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.48 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.48 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.48 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/ucib-vs-uso.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ucib-vs-uso/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: UCIB correlations · USO correlations
