The most direct way to gain exposure to the rise in oil prices is to invest in a fund that tracks the movement of crude futures, such as the United States Oil Fund (USO). Crude oil futures and the ETF both climbed more than 8% in February.
But this strategy is only wise for investors who are willing to bet that oil prices will increase in the near-term, because the USO ETF only tracks the front month futures contract, which is the one with the nearest expiration date.
"If you're looking to make a quick play on the rising prices in the oil market, it's best to be directly tied to the futures market," said Abraham Bailin, exchange traded fund analyst at Morningstar. "But the futures market is really unique, and you have to watch for how futures prices deviate from spot oil prices."
Investors who aren't familiar with the futures oil market can get dinged if the market hits a point of contango, when the price paid for futures is higher than the spot (or near-term) price, said Bailin.
Another option is the PowerShares DB Oil Trust (DBO), which is also designed to track futures prices, but it's based on an index that trades contracts that are further down the line, which helps avoid contango, said Bailin.
Iran, demand, speculators and potential problems at refineries are all responsible for the nearly 50 cent rise in gas prices over the last two months.
