# United States Oil Fund, LP > Clarifo company profile — qualitative business description generated from > the company's filings. Financial statements, charts and ratios are > available on Clarifo (https://www.clarifo.com/fi/companies/United States Oil Fund, LP). ## Overview United States Oil Fund, LP is a Delaware limited partnership that issues exchange-traded limited partnership interests designed to track crude oil price movements. It is organized as a commodity pool and invests primarily in oil futures contracts and related oil-linked instruments through its general partner, United States Commodity Funds LLC. ## Products & services • Exchange-traded limited partnership interests • Crude oil futures exposure • Oil-related derivatives and swaps • Collateral cash and short-term holdings • Portfolio disclosure and fund reporting - **Exchange-traded fund interests** (100%) — Publicly traded partnership units that give investors exposure to the fund's oil-linked strategy. - **Oil futures contracts** (0%) — Primary portfolio holdings used to seek exposure to light, sweet crude oil prices. - **Oil-related derivatives** (0%) — Supplemental instruments such as options, forwards, cleared swaps, and OTC swaps. - Exchange-traded limited partnership interests - Crude oil futures exposure - Oil-related derivatives and swaps - Collateral cash and short-term holdings - Portfolio disclosure and fund reporting ## Customers USO is bought by investors who want exchange-traded exposure to crude oil prices without directly trading futures contracts. Its unitholders include retail investors, institutions, and traders using the fund for tactical positioning or hedging against oil price moves. The product is also used by market participants who need liquid, listed exposure to the oil complex. - **Retail investors** (primary) — Buy shares for simple exchange-traded exposure to crude oil prices without managing futures accounts. - **Institutional investors** (primary) — Use the fund for portfolio hedging, tactical allocation, or short-term commodity exposure. - **Active traders** (secondary) — Trade the shares for liquidity and intraday access to oil price movements. - **Hedgers** (secondary) — Use the fund as a proxy exposure to offset oil-linked business or portfolio risk. - Retail investors seeking listed crude oil exposure - Institutions using the fund for tactical oil positioning - Traders hedging or speculating on oil price moves - Market participants wanting exchange-traded futures exposure - Investors preferring a fund wrapper over direct futures trading ## Geography USO is organized and managed in the United States, with its main business office in Walnut Creek, California. Its portfolio exposure is global in nature because the fund trades oil futures and related instruments on U.S. and foreign exchanges, including NYMEX and ICE Futures. The economic drivers of performance are worldwide crude oil supply, demand, and geopolitics rather than a single operating geography. - Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California - Organized as a Delaware limited partnership - Trades on NYSE Arca in the United States - Uses U.S. and foreign futures exchanges for oil exposure - Economic exposure is global crude oil supply and demand ## Strategy USO's strategy is to provide daily crude oil price exposure through a portfolio centered on the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract. It may also use other oil futures, options, forwards, cleared swaps, and OTC swaps when market conditions, liquidity, regulatory limits, or risk controls require flexibility. The fund's structure is designed to keep the portfolio aligned with its benchmark while managing roll mechanics and collateral holdings. - **Maintain benchmark-linked crude oil exposure** (short-term) — The fund exists to mirror daily oil price changes through futures-based positioning. - **Preserve flexibility in portfolio construction** (medium-term) — Alternative instruments may be needed when liquidity, limits, or market conditions change. - **Manage roll and term-structure effects** (long-term) — Futures-based exposure is affected by contango and backwardation, which influence returns. - Track daily changes in light, sweet crude oil prices - Hold the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract as the core exposure - Use other oil-linked instruments when required by market conditions - Manage futures rolls, liquidity, and regulatory constraints - Maintain collateral and cash to support derivatives exposure ## Risks USO is exposed to the inherent volatility of crude oil futures, where rapid price moves can materially affect investor outcomes. Because the fund relies on derivatives and rolling futures contracts, performance can diverge from spot oil due to contango, backwardation, liquidity constraints, and regulatory limits. Geopolitical shocks, trade policy changes, supply disruptions, and valuation uncertainty in OTC instruments are additional risks. - **Commodity price volatility** [critical] — The fund's value is directly tied to crude oil futures prices, which can change rapidly. - **Tracking error versus spot oil** [high] — Futures roll mechanics and holding periods can cause returns to differ from crude oil spot prices. - **Contango and backwardation** [high] — The term structure of futures prices affects roll costs and total return. - **Geopolitical and trade disruption** [high] — Wars, sanctions, tariffs, and trade barriers can alter oil supply, demand, and liquidity. - **Valuation uncertainty in OTC instruments** [medium] — Forward contracts and OTC swaps require fair value estimates based on future cash flows. - Crude oil futures can move sharply and cause large losses - Roll yield from contango or backwardation can hurt returns - Liquidity or position limits may force portfolio changes - Geopolitical events can disrupt oil supply and pricing - OTC and forward valuations depend on estimates and models ## Accounting The main accounting judgment is fair value measurement of derivatives, especially OTC swaps and forward contracts that are not exchange-traded. USO also estimates daily interest and dividend income on collateral holdings, and those estimates are later trued up to actual receipts. Because the portfolio is futures-based, changes in contract valuation, roll timing, and collateral income can materially affect reported results and NAV. - **Fair value measurement of OTC derivatives** — Can affect reported asset values and period-to-period results - **Daily futures valuation** — Drives daily NAV changes - **Accrual of collateral income** — Affects income recognition and comparability - Fair value estimates for OTC swaps and forward contracts - Exchange-traded futures valued using broker-provided market prices - Daily accrual of interest and dividend income on collateral - Monthly true-up of estimated versus actual income - Derivative valuation affects NAV and reported investment results --- *Last updated: 2026-04-29T05:06:19.153346+00:00*