Country-Specific ETFs Winners & Losers For $100 Oil

Alright, let's just say $100+ oil because the reality Brent crude, not West Texas Intermediate, is the international benchmark and Brent closed at $114.82 a barrel on Thursday, nearly $13 NYMEX-traded West Texas Intermediate. Even if some excess supply, say courtesy of Saudi Arabia, finds it way to market and knocks oil below $100 a barrel, there is still a reasonable chance oil heads back to that level or beyond later this year and that's good news for select country-specific ETFs and bad news for others. Let's take a look at some of the winners and losers on a regional basis. Eastern Europe Winners: Russia-ETFs Everyone knows how energy-dependent the Russian economy and that's not a bad thing when oil's at $100 a barrel. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX) is the more liquid play, but don't discount the iShares MSCI Russia Index Fund (NYSE: ERUS), which features a higher weighting to energy at 53%. Losers: Poland ETFs Take your pick of the Market Vectors Poland ETF (NYSE: PLND) or the iShares MSCI Poland Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: EPOL). Poland is a net oil importer and a fair amount of that oil comes from Russia. Poland was mentioned as a potential loser due to $100 oil in a Credit Suisse report published on Wednesday. Note: The Czech Republic was also mentioned as a potential loser in the Credit Suisse report. In the absence of ETFs specific to this country, the SPDR S&P Emerging Europe ETF (NYSE: GUR) and the S&P Emerging Markets Infrastructure Index Fund (Nasdaq: EMIF) both offer some Czech exposure, so they could prove to be ETFs to avoid. Asia: Winner: Malaysia The iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund (NYSE: EWM) could continue its move to $15 and beyond because Malaysia is an oil exporter, as the Credit Suisse report notes. Losers: The Philippines and Thailand The iShares MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: EPHE) and the iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: THD) may soon discover, if they have not already, that being net oil importers is no fun.