3 ETFs For The FOMC Minutes...If You Must

The Federal Open Market Committee concluded its two-day meeting, releasing minutes that held precious little in the way of surprises. Interest rates will remain at 0.25%, the Fed anticipates keeping rates low through late 2014 and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker was again the lone FOMC member to dissent, once again expressing his view that rates will need to rise before 2014. From the FOMC statement: "Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately. Labor market conditions have improved in recent months; the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment have continued to advance. Despite some signs of improvement, the housing sector remains depressed. Inflation has picked up somewhat, mainly reflecting higher prices of crude oil and gasoline. However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable." Maybe there are some ETF trades in there after all, starting with... PowerShares DB Gold Double Short ETN DZZ Leading up to the conclusion of the FOMC meeting, there was plenty of chatter that, at the very least, gold bugs needed the Fed to reiterate that rates would remain low through late 2014. The Fed did that, but the reality was, gold bugs needed more than that because the yellow metal has been a risk asset this year, not a safe haven. In fact, losses in the SPDR Gold Shares GLD and iShares Gold Trust IAU accelerated after the FOMC minutes were released. For now, gold may need QE3 and it definitely needs a resolution to the European sovereign debt crisis. And that leads us to the... ProShares UltraShort Silver ZSL If you want to see an ugly chart that is bound to get uglier real quick, check out the iShares Silver Trust SLV. Silver had a few days in the sun earlier this year when the risk on trade was on and investors liked what they were hearing on the economic data front. Those positive catalysts are out the window, and anyone thinks SLV looks like a steal because it's flirting with $29, should be careful. The $24-$25 area is a legitimate possibly in the near-term. Market Vectors Oil Services ETF OIH Unlike gold and silver, oil really doesn't need another round of quantitative easing to move higher. Sure, it would help, but QE3 or a lack thereof will not be the sole determinant of oil's price action over the next few months. Remember this line from the FOMC statement: "Inflation has picked up somewhat, mainly reflecting higher prices of crude oil and gasoline." Save for National Oilwell Varco NOV today, OIH's other big constituents, namely Schlumberger SLB and Halliburton HAL, have not disappointed on the earnings front and that has helped OIH's chart firm a bit. Oil services stocks are intimately correlated oil futures and if there was one sector fund to nibble at now ahead of the inevitable inflation caused by the Fed's easy money policy, OIH might just be the one. For more on commodities ETFs, please click HERE.