Futures winners and losers: VIX jumped, crude oil sank in 2015

October 02, 2015 at 16:21 PM EDT

Futures, 1-year performance highlights:

Futures, 1-year: $VIX +33% Nikkei $NKY +13% S&P 500 $SPX +1% Yen $FXY -10% Copper $HG_F -22% Oil $CL_F -51% pic.twitter.com/Hipjg8C2ti— David Shvartsman (@FinanceTrends) October 2, 2015
The VIX volatility index zoomed higher as stocks declined in August and September. Japan's Nikkei 225 topped the Finviz futures list of leading stock indexes. The S&P 500 has managed to eke out a gain of 1% over the past year.

As noted on Twitter, I believe Finviz' data on ethanol futures is incorrect (they show a 1-year gain of 70%). Here's a continuous weekly chart on ethanol that shows a picture of flat returns over last year's prices.

I believe Finviz' data on Ethanol $EH_F is incorrect. Sorry, let's try that again... pic.twitter.com/Z1WeWEY49d— David Shvartsman (@FinanceTrends) October 2, 2015
Metals and energy prices suffered over the past year, as copper and platinum fell over 20%. Natural gas sank 41%, but the biggest hits came to WTI and Brent crude oil.

Focusing in on oil, this year's worst performer, we see WTI crude oil down 50% for the year.

Crude oil 5-year chart. WTI oil down 50% in 1 year. $CL_F $USO pic.twitter.com/IdomDEAhsU— David Shvartsman (@FinanceTrends) October 2, 2015
Oil is now trading near $45, down well off its highs near $100 - $110 of the last several years. Of course, that's taken the entire oil and gas complex down with it. The crash in oil and energy stocks is a trend we've covered on Twitter and StockTwits since late 2014.