This Week's ETF Winners & Losers

The

United States Natural Gas

(UNG) - Get Report

exchange-traded fund was the best performer of the week as natural gas prices surged.

Prices were rising on resurfacing concerns over looming storms. Tropical Storm Ingrid was the latest to form during the height of hurricane season. Natural gas soared 14.2% over the five sessions, and the ETF climbed 15.5% to end at $39.65.

Meanwhile, retail-related ETFs benefited from advances this week in shares of

Target

(TGT) - Get Report

and

McDonald's

(MCD) - Get Report

.

Target rose on news the retailer might shed its credit card division. McDonald's jumped after saying it expects to return a total of $15 billion to $17 billion to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and share buybacks.

The

Retail HOLDRs

(RTH) - Get Report

ETF increased by 4% to $100.85. The

PowerShares Dynamic Retail

(PMR) - Get Report

ETF gained 3% to $17.88. The

SPDR S&P Retail

(XRT) - Get Report

ETF ended up 2.5% to $38.83.

Financial ETFs were also higher after troubled lender

Countrywide

(CFC)

rose 6.6% during the week thanks to obtaining $12 billion in borrowing capacity.

The

Ultra Financial ProShares

(UYG) - Get Report

ETF tacked on 4.3% to $55.29. The

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers

(IAI) - Get Report

ETF was higher by 2.8% to $50.04. The

KBW Bank

(KBE) - Get Report

ETF added 2.7% to $52.53.

On the other hand, semiconductor ETFs lost ground after

Texas Instruments

(TXN) - Get Report

offered its midquarter report. The chipmaker tightened its third-quarter financial targets, although the forecast was still near Wall Street's estimates. TI lost 1.8% for the week.

The

Ultra Semiconductor ProShares

(USD) - Get Report

ETF slumped 3.2% over the five sessions to close at $82.30. The

Semiconductor HOLDRs

(SMH) - Get Report

slid 1.8% to $37.14. The

PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductor

(PSI) - Get Report

ETF lost 1.5% to $18.01.