United States Oil Fund drawdown: 83.5% below the all-time high
United States Oil Fund is 83.5% below its all-time high, set Jul 14, 2008 (as of market close, Sep 11, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown.
- Below all-time high
- −83.5%
- 16.5% of ATH
- All-time high
- $939.84
- Jul 14, 2008
- Time below the high
- 18.2 yrs
- since Jul 14, 2008
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −98.2%
- Apr 28, 2020
- Longest underwater
- 18.2 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Apr 10, 2006
- 20.4 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- never before
- no prior −83.5% episode
% of all-time high since 2006#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater. Basis and range are in the URL, so a particular view is a link.
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2008 | Apr 28, 2020 | −98.2% | 11.8 yrs | not yet | 18.2 yrs+ |
| Jul 13, 2006 | Jan 18, 2007 | −41.0% | 6 mo | Oct 31, 2007 | 16 mo |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 2006: how far United States Oil Fund stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: a single asset's history is one surviving sample, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ#
- How far is United States Oil Fund from its all-time high?
- United States Oil Fund is currently 83.5% below its all-time high, set Jul 14, 2008 (as of market close, Sep 11, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest United States Oil Fund drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2006) took United States Oil Fund 98.2% below its prior high, bottoming Apr 28, 2020. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since -1 from USO; no free deep history exists for United States Oil Fund — for a 150-year drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.