Crude Oil Might Be Nearing a Bottom

With warm weather and worries over a slowing economy globally, crude oil has been under extreme pressure in recent weeks. While such a dramatic turn of events has been great for prices at the pump, energy investors likely aren't too enthused. As you can see from this chart, the U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO) has fallen more than 40%, or 30 points, from its summer high.

Is oil making a bottom, or do we have a lot further to fall? I have little doubt that part of the recent selling flurry has been from the hedge fund community, and therefore has exacerbated the move downward. I don't think we'll see $35 or $40 per barrel crude oil anytime soon, and as a result, bottom fishing might be in order here.

Also consider that energy could hold up relatively well in a market correction, so that portion of one's portfolio could very well limit losses to some degree, if and when we finally get a meaningful correction in the stock market.

Investors looking to participate in an oil play could go with the USO exchange-traded fund, or turn to individual oil stocks to collect dividend payments in addition to any share price appreciation. Canadian oil trusts tend to offer some of the highest yields in the industry.

Disclosure: Author has no position in USO.