Bottom Fishers Betting Big on Energy SPDR Despite Crude Crash

Oil prices may have crashed this winter, but energy ETFs enjoyed hefty inflows of $3.4 billion in December and $1.7 billion in January suggesting a bottom may be near, said David Mazza, Head of ETF Research for State Street Global Advisors. Mazza added that SSGA's Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) brought in $2.1 billion alone in December, the highest monthly total since September of 2008. He said $8 billion of inflows came into fixed income ETFs in January with $2.2 billion going into surging government bond ETFs. Finally, Mazza said renewed investor appetite for gold helped commodity ETFs draw $3.6 billion of inflows in January, as easy monetary policies from foreign central banks and fears of a destabilization in the Eurozone have revitalized demand for the precious metal.