[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s oil exchange-traded funds have posted stellar returns in recent months thanks to strong international crude prices, a fund evaluator said on Dec. 8.

The country’s three major oil ETFs posted an average return of slightly over 16 percent in the past three months, emerging as the top performers among local commodity funds, according to KG Zeroin.

Oil ETFs consist of either crude firm stocks or futures and derivative contracts to track the price and performance of crude, or in some cases oil-related indexes.  

After hitting a nadir of US$42 per barrel, international oil prices have been on the rise since August.

Behind the strength of international oil prices are such factors as decreased investment in new oil fields, brisk demand from Asia and other regions, expectations for the extension of a production cut by the OPEC, market analysts said.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)