10 Worst-Performing Industries in 2024

6. Oil & Gas 

Overall: -4%

iShares U.S Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF -0.98%

iShares Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF +4.3%

SPDR Oil & Gas Equipment and Services ETF (NYSE:XES): -7%

Several subindustries in the oil & gas industry had negative YTD returns, with natural gas getting hit the hardest. The Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas Index Fund (NYSE:BOIL) was down 66.7% year-to-date. The US oil & gas did worse than the global industry, underperforming the latter by 5.28% based on the performance of Blackrock’s U.S Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF versus its global Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF.

The oil and gas equipment and services industry naturally followed, with the US-exposed SPDR Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (NYSE:XES) falling 7% year-to-date. This is based on the ETFs exposed to these industries. The natural gas sector has experienced a more pronounced downturn in 2023 and so far in 2024 compared to other segments of the oil and gas industry. The core factor is dramatically declined price caused by global oversupply, mainly because of US’s high production levels.