Dion's Weekly ETF Winners and Losers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here is my list of this week's ETF winners and losers.

Winners

iPath Dow Jones UBS Sugar Subindex Total Return ETN (SGG) 7.3%

Investors who have been monitoring SGG's performance over the past few months are learning first hand of the roller-coaster nature of single commodity-tracking ETNs.

Since the opening days of May, the fund has taken a steep, largely interrupted upward trajectory. That action is markedly different from the fund's performance in April, when shares of SGG fell on all but five trading days.

The agriculture industry is attractive. However, given this type of wildly volatility, I urge conservative-minded investors to look elsewhere for exposure. Options such as PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (DBA) and Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO) will behave more reliably over longer time frames.

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ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (PALL) 3.7%

Since bouncing off levels near 2011 lows in mid-May, the physically-backed palladium ETF has been on a steady upward path. This week's strength has helped to push the fund back toward early March levels.

This strength is interesting considering the broad market's shaky action over the past few weeks. Palladium is used extensively in the production of catalytic converters and, therefore, tends to trade in line with the marketplace. This fund may prove to be interesting to watch in the days ahead.

Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) 2.4%

Crude prices were closely watched following this week's OPEC meeting. In response to the group's inability to agree on output, oil prices headed higher.

The upward action that took place in the energy markets boded well for RSX, and pushed the fund to industry-leading gains. Oil and gas players including Gazprom and Lukoil make up the largest slice of this fund's index.

Losers

Guggenheim Solar Energy ETF (TAN) -7.4%

Weak market action combined with ongoing concerns about Europe's looming debt issues helped to create ample headwinds for the volatile solar energy sector.

This week's losses have helped push TAN further along the downward path it has been traveling since the start of May. The retreat has been dramatic. The fund is currently trading at levels last seen in July 2010.

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