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United States Oil Fund, LP - Quarter Report: 2008 September (Form 10-Q)


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
 
x
Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2008.

OR

¨
Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the transition period from                      to                     .
 

 
Commission file number: 001-32834
 
United States Oil Fund, LP
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
Delaware
 
20-2830691
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
 
1320 Harbor Bay Parkway, Suite 145
Alameda, California 94502
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
 
(510) 522-3336
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
 
x Yes    ¨ No
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
 
Large accelerated filer ¨
Accelerated filer x
   
Non-accelerated filer ¨
Smaller reporting company ¨
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
 
¨ Yes    x No
 

 
UNITED STATES OIL FUND, LP

Table of Contents

  
 
Page
Part I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
   
Item 1. Condensed Financial Statements.
 
1
   
 
  
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
 
14
   
 
 
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
 
28
    
 
 
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
 
29
     
 
 
Part II. OTHER INFORMATION
 
 
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
 
30
     
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
 
30
     
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.
 
30
     
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
 
30
     
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
 
30
     
Item 5. Other Information.
 
30
 
 
 
Item 6. Exhibits.
 
30
 

 
Part I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
 
Item 1. Condensed Financial Statements.
 
Index to Condensed Financial Statements

Documents
 
Page
Condensed Statements of Financial Condition at September 30, 2008 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2007
 
2
 
 
 
Condensed Schedule of Investments (Unaudited) at September 30, 2008
 
3
 
 
 
Condensed Statements of Operations (Unaudited) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007
 
4
 
 
 
Condensed Statement of Changes in Partners’ Capital (Unaudited) for the nine months ended September 30, 2008
 
5
 
 
 
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007
 
6
 
 
 
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements for the period ended September 30, 2008 (Unaudited)
 
7
 
1

 
United States Oil Fund, LP
Condensed Statements of Financial Condition
At September 30, 2008 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2007
 
     
September 30, 2008
 
December 31, 2007
 
Assets
         
Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
1,223,824,222
 
$
354,816,049
 
Equity in UBS Securities LLC trading accounts:
             
Cash
   
477,959,474
   
86,330,750
 
Unrealized gain (loss) on open commodity futures contracts
   
(26,658,040
)
 
35,705,020
 
Receivable for units sold
   
25,862,928
   
7,581,679
 
Interest receivable
   
1,500,432
   
962,551
 
Other assets
   
496,934
   
420,705
 
               
Total assets
 
$
1,702,985,950
 
$
485,816,754
 
     
       
Liabilities and Partners' Capital
   
       
General Partner management fees (Note 3)
 
$
495,455
 
$
226,782
 
Payable for units redeemed
   
77,731,040
   
-
 
Brokerage commissions payable
   
53,086
   
22,886
 
Other liabilities
   
1,142,363
   
344,349
 
               
Total liabilities
   
79,421,944
   
594,017
 
               
Commitments and Contingencies (Notes 3, 4 and 5)
             
               
Partners' Capital
             
General Partner
   
-
   
-
 
Limited Partners
   
1,623,564,006
   
485,222,737
 
               
Total Partners' Capital
   
1,623,564,006
   
485,222,737
 
               
Total liabilities and partners' capital
 
$
1,702,985,950
 
$
485,816,754
 
               
Limited Partners' units outstanding
   
20,000,000
   
6,400,000
 
Net asset value per unit
 
$
81.18
 
$
75.82
 
Market value per unit
 
$
82.01
 
$
75.75
 
 
See accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
 
2

 
United States Oil Fund, LP
Condensed Schedule of Investments (Unaudited)
At September 30, 2008

Open Futures Contracts

 
 
Number of Contracts
 
Loss on Open Commodity Contracts
 
% of
Partners' Capital
 
United States Contracts
             
Crude Oil Futures contracts, expire November 2008
   
16,131
 
$
(26,658,040
)
 
(1.64
)
 
Cash Equivalents
 
    
 
Cost
 
Market Value
      
United States - Money Market Funds
             
Goldman Sachs Financial Square Funds - Government Fund
 
$
428,739,267
 
$
428,739,267
   
26.41
 
Goldman Sachs Financial Square Funds - Treasury Instruments Fund
   
350,642,351
   
350,642,351
   
21.60
 
   
$
779,381,618
   
779,381,618
   
48.01
 
                     
Cash
         
444,442,604
   
27.37
 
Total Cash and Cash Equivalents
         
1,223,824,222
   
75.38
 
                     
Cash on deposit with broker
         
477,959,474
   
29.44
 
Liabilities, less receivables and other assets
         
(51,561,650
)
 
(3.18
)
Total Partners' Capital
       
1,623,564,006
   
100.00
 

See accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
 
3

 
United States Oil Fund, LP
Condensed Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
For the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007
 
     
Three months
ended
 
Three months
ended
 
Nine Months
ended
 
Nine Months
ended
 
   
September 30,
2008
 
September 30,
2007
 
September 30,
2008
 
September 30,
2007
 
Income
                 
Gains (losses) on trading of commodity futures contracts:
                 
Realized gains (losses) on closed positions
 
$
(348,770,180
)
$
109,757,730
 
$
(52,145,750
)
$
111,008,840
 
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on open positions
   
(39,303,880
)
 
(22,790,310
)
 
(62,363,060
)
 
47,194,880
 
Interest income
   
5,868,040
   
7,187,424
   
12,213,272
   
30,175,872
 
Other income
   
78,000
   
73,000
   
227,000
   
231,000
 
                           
Total income (loss)
   
(382,128,020
)
 
94,227,844
   
(102,068,538
)
 
188,610,592
 
                           
Expenses
                         
General Partner management fees (Note 3)
   
1,364,008
   
721,676
   
2,805,644
   
3,007,089
 
Brokerage commissions
   
391,467
   
194,908
   
891,642
   
951,049
 
Other expenses
   
508,069
   
272,947
   
1,815,260
   
1,081,089
 
                           
Total expenses
   
2,263,544
   
1,189,531
   
5,512,546
   
5,039,227
 
                           
Net income (loss)
 
$
(384,391,564
)
$
93,038,313
 
$
(107,581,084
)
$
183,571,365
 
Net income (loss) per limited partnership unit
 
$
(32.13
)
$
9.48
 
$
5.36
 
$
10.79
 
Net income (loss) per weighted average limited partnership unit
 
$
(28.35
)
$
9.35
 
$
(12.17
)
$
11.46
 
Weighted average limited partnership units outstanding
   
13,558,696
   
9,945,652
   
8,841,606
   
16,017,949
 
 
See accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
 
4

 
United States Oil Fund, LP
Condensed Statement of Changes in Partners' Capital (Unaudited)
For the nine months ended September 30, 2008

     
General
Partner
 
Limited Partners
 
Total
 
               
Balances, at December 31, 2007
 
$
-
 
$
485,222,737
 
$
485,222,737
 
Addition of 98,300,000 partnership units
   
-
   
8,858,859,292
   
8,858,859,292
 
Redemption of 84,700,000 partnership units
   
-
   
(7,612,936,939
)
 
(7,612,936,939
)
Net loss
   
-
   
(107,581,084
)
 
(107,581,084
)
                     
Balances, at September 30, 2008
 
$
-
 
$
1,623,564,006
 
$
1,623,564,006
 
           
       
Net Asset Value Per Unit
                   
At December 31, 2007
 
$
75.82
             
At September 30, 2008
 
$
81.18
             

See accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
 
5

 
United States Oil Fund, LP
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
For the nine months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007
 
     
Nine months ended
 
Nine months ended
 
   
September 30, 2008
 
September 30, 2007
 
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
         
Net income (loss)
 
$
(107,581,084
)
$
183,571,365
 
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
   
       
(Increase) decrease in commodity futures trading account – cash
   
(391,628,724
)
 
35,805,017
 
Unrealized (gains) losses on futures contracts
   
62,363,060
   
(47,194,880
)
(Increase) decrease in interest receivable and other assets
   
(614,110
)
 
1,390,231
 
Increase (decrease) in management fees payable
   
268,673
   
(137,886
)
Increase (decrease) in commissions payable
   
30,200
   
(21,500
)
Increase in other liabilities
   
798,014
   
155,674
 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
   
(436,363,971
)
 
173,568,021
 
               
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
             
Subscription of partnership units
   
8,840,578,043
   
2,858,056,667
 
Redemption of partnership units
   
(7,535,205,899
)
 
(3,344,005,164
)
               
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
   
1,305,372,144
   
(485,948,497
)
               
Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents
   
869,008,173
   
(312,380,476
)
               
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period
   
354,816,049
   
712,883,812
 
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period
 
$
1,223,824,222
 
$
400,503,336
 
 
See accompanying notes to condensed financial statements.
 
6

 
United States Oil Fund, LP
Notes to Condensed Financial Statements
For the period ended September 30, 2008 (Unaudited)
 
NOTE 1 - ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS
 
The United States Oil Fund, LP (“USOF”) was organized as a limited partnership under the laws of the state of Delaware on May 12, 2005. USOF is a commodity pool that issues units that may be purchased and sold on the American Stock Exchange (the “AMEX”). USOF will continue in perpetuity, unless terminated sooner upon the occurrence of one or more events as described in its Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership dated as of October 13, 2008 (the “LP Agreement”). The investment objective of USOF is for the changes in percentage terms of its net asset value to reflect the changes in percentage terms of the price of light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, as measured by the changes in the price of the futures contract on light, sweet crude oil as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the “NYMEX”) that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case the futures contract will be the next month contract to expire, less USOF’s expenses. USOF accomplishes its objective through investments in futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil, and other types of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other U.S. and foreign exchanges (collectively, “Oil Futures Contracts”) and other oil related investments such as cash-settled options on Oil Futures Contracts, forward contracts for oil and over-the-counter transactions that are based on the price of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels, Oil Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, “Other Oil Interests”). As of September 30, 2008, USOF held 16,131 Oil Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX.

USOF commenced investment operations on April 10, 2006 and has a fiscal year ending on December 31. United States Commodity Funds LLC (formerly known as Victoria Bay Asset Management, LLC) (the “General Partner”) is responsible for the management of USOF. The General Partner is a member of the National Futures Association (the “NFA”) and became a commodity pool operator with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission effective December 1, 2005. The General Partner is also the general partner of the United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (“USNG”), the United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (“US12OF”), the United States Gasoline Fund, LP (“USG”) and the United States Heating Oil Fund, LP (“USHO”), which listed their limited partnership units on the AMEX under the ticker symbols “UNG” on April 18, 2007, “USL” on December 6, 2007, “UGA” on February 26, 2008 and “UHN” on April 9, 2008, respectively.
 
The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and, therefore, do not include all information and footnote disclosure required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.  The financial information included herein is unaudited, however, such financial information reflects all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair presentation of the condensed financial statements for the interim period.

USOF issues limited partnership interests (“units”) to certain authorized purchasers (“Authorized Purchasers”) by offering baskets consisting of 100,000 units (“Creation Baskets”) through ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Marketing Agent”). The purchase price for a Creation Basket is based upon the net asset value of a unit determined as of the earlier of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) or 4:00 p.m. New York time on the day the order to create the basket is properly received.

In addition, Authorized Purchasers pay USOF a $1,000 fee for each order to create one or more Creation Baskets. Units may be purchased or sold on a nationally recognized securities exchange in smaller increments than a Creation Basket. Units purchased or sold on a nationally recognized securities exchange are not purchased or sold at the net asset value of USOF but rather at market prices quoted on such exchange.

In April 2006, USOF initially registered 17,000,000 units on Form S-1 with the SEC. On April 10, 2006, USOF listed its units on the AMEX under the ticker symbol “USO”. On that day, USOF established its initial net asset value by setting the price at $67.39 per unit and issued 200,000 units in exchange for $13,479,000. USOF also commenced investment operations on April 10, 2006 by purchasing Oil Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX based on light, sweet crude oil.  As of September 30, 2008, USOF had registered a total of 327,000,000 units.
 
7

 
NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Revenue Recognition

Commodity futures contracts, forward contracts, physical commodities, and related options are recorded on the trade date. All such transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis and marked to market daily. Unrealized gains or losses on open contracts are reflected in the condensed statement of financial condition and in the difference between the original contract amount and the market value (as determined by exchange settlement prices for futures contracts and related options and cash dealer prices at a predetermined time for forward contracts, physical commodities, and their related options) as of the last business day of the year or as of the last date of the condensed financial statements. Changes in the unrealized gains or losses between periods are reflected in the condensed statement of operations. USOF earns interest on its assets denominated in U.S. dollars on deposit with the futures commission merchant at the overnight Federal Funds Rate less 32 basis points. In addition, USOF earns interest on funds held at the custodian at prevailing market rates earned on such investments.

Brokerage Commissions

Brokerage commissions on all open commodity futures contracts are accrued on a full-turn basis.
 
Income Taxes

USOF is not subject to federal income taxes; each partner reports its allocable share of income, gain, loss deductions or credits on its own income tax return.
 
Creations and Redemptions

Authorized Purchasers may purchase units (“Creation Baskets”) or redeem units (“Redemption Baskets”) only in blocks of 100,000 units equal to the net asset value of the units determined as of the earlier of the close of the NYSE or 4:00 p.m. New York time on the day the order is placed.

USOF records units sold or redeemed one business day after the trade date of the purchase or redemption. The amounts due from Authorized Purchasers are reflected in USOF’s condensed statement of financial condition as receivable for units sold, and amounts payable to Authorized Purchasers upon redemption are reflected as payable for units redeemed.
 
Partnership Capital and Allocation of Partnership Income and Losses

Profit or loss is allocated among the partners of USOF in proportion to the number of units each partner holds as of the close of each month. The General Partner may revise, alter or otherwise modify this method of allocation as described in the LP Agreement.

Calculation of Net Asset Value

USOF calculates its net asset value on each trading day by taking the current market value of its total assets, subtracting any liabilities and dividing the amount by the total number of units issued and outstanding. USOF uses the closing price for the contracts on the relevant exchange on that day to determine the value of contracts held on such exchange.
 
Net Income (Loss) per Unit

Net income (loss) per unit is the difference between the net asset value per unit at the beginning of each period and at the end of each period. The weighted average number of units outstanding was computed for purposes of disclosing net income (loss) per weighted average unit. The weighted average units are equal to the number of units outstanding at the end of the period, adjusted proportionately for units redeemed based on the amount of time the units were outstanding during such period. There were no units held by the General Partner at September 30, 2008.
 
8

Offering Costs

Offering costs incurred in connection with the registration of additional units after the initial registration of units are borne by USOF. These costs include registration fees paid to regulatory agencies and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated therewith. These costs will be accounted for as a deferred charge and thereafter amortized to expense over twelve months on a straight-line basis or a shorter period if warranted. 
 
Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include money market funds and overnight deposits or time deposits with original maturity dates of three months or less.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of condensed financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires USOF’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed financial statements, and the reported amounts of the revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions.
 
NOTE 3 - FEES PAID BY USOF AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

General Partner Management Fee
 
Under the LP Agreement, the General Partner is responsible for investing the assets of USOF in accordance with the objectives and policies of USOF. In addition, the General Partner has arranged for one or more third parties to provide administrative, custody, accounting, transfer agency and other necessary services to USOF. For these services, USOF is contractually obligated to pay the General Partner a fee, which is paid monthly and based on average daily net assets, that is equal to 0.50% per annum on average daily net assets of $1,000,000,000 or less and 0.20% per annum on average daily net assets that are greater than $1,000,000,000. As of January 1, 2009, this fee will change to 0.45% per annum on all average daily net assets.
 
Ongoing Registration Fees and Other Offering Expenses
 
USOF pays all costs and expenses associated with the ongoing registration of units subsequent to the initial offering. These costs include registration or other fees paid to regulatory agencies in connection with the offer and sale of units, and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated with such offer and sale. For the nine month periods ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, USOF incurred $393,787 and $384,058, respectively, in registration fees and other offering expenses.
 
Directors’ Fees
 
USOF is responsible for paying the fees and expenses, including directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, of the independent directors of the General Partner who are also audit committee members. USOF shares these fees with USNG, US12OF, USG and USHO based on the relative assets of each fund, computed on a daily basis. These fees for the calendar year 2008 are estimated to be a total of $286,000 for all five funds.

Licensing Fees

As discussed in Note 4, USOF entered into a licensing agreement with the NYMEX on May 30, 2007. The agreement has an effective date of April 10, 2006. Pursuant to the agreement, USOF and the affiliated funds managed by the General Partner pay a licensing fee that is equal to 0.04% for the first $1,000,000,000 of combined assets of the funds and 0.02% for combined assets above $1,000,000,000. During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, USOF incurred $194,845 and $314,175 under this arrangement.

9


Investor Tax Reporting Cost
 
The fees and expenses associated with USOF’s tax accounting and reporting requirements, with the exception of certain initial implementation service fees and base service fees which were borne by the General Partner, are paid by USOF. These costs are estimated to be $928,749 for the year ending December 31, 2008.
 
Other Expenses and Fees
 
In addition to the fees described above, USOF pays all brokerage fees, taxes and other expenses in connection with the operation of USOF, excluding costs and expenses paid by the General Partner as outlined in Note 4.

NOTE 4 - CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS

USOF is party to a marketing agent agreement, dated as of March 13, 2006, with the Marketing Agent, whereby the Marketing Agent provides certain marketing services for USOF as outlined in the agreement. The fees of the Marketing Agent, which are borne by the General Partner, include a marketing fee of $425,000 per annum plus the following incentive fee: 0.00% on USOF’s assets from $0 - $500 million; 0.04% on USOF’s assets from $500 million - $4 billion; and 0.03% on USOF’s assets in excess of $4 billion.

The above fees do not include the following expenses, which are also borne by the General Partner: the cost of placing advertisements in various periodicals; web construction and development; or the printing and production of various marketing materials.

USOF is also party to a custodian agreement, dated March 13, 2006, with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH&Co.”), whereby BBH&Co. holds investments on behalf of USOF. The General Partner pays the fees of the custodian, which are determined by the parties from time to time. In addition, USOF is party to an administrative agency agreement, dated March 13, 2006, with the General Partner and BBH&Co., whereby BBH&Co. acts as the administrative agent, transfer agent and registrar for USOF. The General Partner also pays the fees of BBH&Co. for its services under this agreement and such fees are determined by the parties from time to time.

Currently, the General Partner pays BBH&Co. for its services, in the foregoing capacities, the greater of a minimum of $125,000 annually or an asset-based charge of (a) 0.06% for the first $500 million of USOF’s, USNG’s, US12OF’s, USG’s and USHO’s combined net assets, (b) 0.0465% for USOF’s, USNG’s, US12OF’s, USG’s and USHO’s combined net assets greater than $500 million but less than $1 billion, and (c) 0.035% for USOF’s, USNG’s, US12OF’s, USG’s and USHO’s combined net assets in excess of $1 billion. The General Partner also pays a $25,000 annual fee for the transfer agency services and transaction fees ranging from $7.00 to $15.00 per transaction.

USOF has entered into a brokerage agreement with UBS Securities LLC (“UBS Securities”). The agreement requires UBS Securities to provide services to USOF in connection with the purchase and sale of Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests that may be purchased and sold by or through UBS Securities for USOF’s account. The agreement provides that UBS Securities charge USOF commissions of approximately $7 per round-turn trade, plus applicable exchange and NFA fees for Oil Futures Contracts and options on Oil Futures Contracts.

USOF invests primarily in Oil Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX. On May 30, 2007, USOF and the NYMEX entered into a license agreement whereby USOF was granted a non-exclusive license to use certain of the NYMEX’s settlement prices and service marks. The agreement has an effective date of April 10, 2006. Under the license agreement, USOF and the affiliated funds managed by the General Partner pay the NYMEX an asset-based fee for the license, the terms of which are described in Note 3.

USOF expressly disclaims any association with the NYMEX or endorsement of USOF by the NYMEX and acknowledges that “NYMEX” and “New York Mercantile Exchange” are registered trademarks of the NYMEX.

10


NOTE 5 - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES

USOF engages in the speculative trading of futures contracts and options on futures contracts (collectively, “derivatives”). USOF is exposed to both market risk, which is the risk arising from changes in the market value of the contracts, and credit risk, which is the risk of failure by another party to perform according to the terms of a contract.

All of the contracts currently traded by USOF are exchange-traded. The risks associated with exchange-traded contracts are generally perceived to be less than those associated with over-the-counter transactions since, in over-the-counter transactions, USOF must rely solely on the credit of its respective individual counterparties. However, in the future, if USOF were to enter into non-exchange traded contracts, it would be subject to the credit risk associated with counterparty non-performance. The credit risk from counterparty non-performance associated with such instruments is the net unrealized gain, if any. USOF also has credit risk since the sole counterparty to all domestic and foreign futures contracts is the exchange on which the relevant contracts are traded. In addition, USOF bears the risk of financial failure by the clearing broker.
 
The purchase and sale of futures and options on futures contracts require margin deposits with a futures commission merchant. Additional deposits may be necessary for any loss on contract value. The Commodity Exchange Act requires a futures commission merchant to segregate all customer transactions and assets from the futures commission merchant’s proprietary activities.

USOF’s cash and other property, such as U.S. Treasuries, deposited with a futures commission merchant are considered commingled with all other customer funds subject to the futures commission merchant’s segregation requirements. In the event of a futures commission merchant’s insolvency, recovery may be limited to a pro rata share of segregated funds available. It is possible that the recovered amount could be less than the total of cash and other property deposited. The insolvency of a futures commission merchant could result in the complete loss of USOF’s assets posted with that futures commission merchant; however, the vast majority of USOF’s assets are held in Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents with USOF’s custodian and would not be impacted by the insolvency of a futures commission merchant. Also, the failure or insolvency of USOF’s custodian could result in a substantial loss of USOF’s assets.
 
USOF invests its cash in money market funds that seek to maintain a stable net asset value. USOF is exposed to any risk of loss associated with an investment in these money market funds. As of September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, USOF had deposits in domestic and foreign financial institutions, including cash investments in money market funds, in the amounts of $1,701,783,696 and $441,146,799, respectively. This amount is subject to loss should these institutions cease operations.
 
For derivatives, risks arise from changes in the market value of the contracts. Theoretically, USOF is exposed to a market risk equal to the value of futures contracts purchased and unlimited liability on such contracts sold short. As both a buyer and a seller of options, USOF pays or receives a premium at the outset and then bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the contract underlying the option.

USOF’s policy is to continuously monitor its exposure to market and counterparty risk through the use of a variety of financial, position and credit exposure reporting controls and procedures. In addition, USOF has a policy of requiring review of the credit standing of each broker or counterparty with which it conducts business.
 
The financial instruments held by USOF are reported in its condensed statement of financial condition at market or fair value, or at carrying amounts that approximate fair value, because of their highly liquid nature and short-term maturity.
 
NOTE 6 - FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The following table presents per unit performance data and other supplemental financial data for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 and 2007 for the limited partners. This information has been derived from information presented in the condensed financial statements.  

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For the nine 
months ended
 
For the nine 
months ended 
 
 
 
September 30, 2008
 
September 30, 2007
 
 
 
(Unaudited)
 
(Unaudited)
 
Per Unit Operating Performance:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net asset value, beginning of period
 
$
75.82
 
$
51.87
 
Total income
   
5.98
   
11.10
 
Total expenses
   
(0.62
)
 
(0.31
)
Net increase in net asset value
   
5.36
   
10.79
 
Net asset value, end of period
 
$
81.18
 
$
62.66
 
 
             
Total Return
   
7.07
%
 
20.80
%
 
             
Ratios to Average Net Assets
             
Total income (loss)
   
(12.59
)%
 
23.14
%
Expenses excluding management fees*
   
(0.45
)%
 
(0.33
)%
Management fees*
   
(0.46
)%
 
(0.50
)%
Net income (loss)
   
(13.27
)%
 
22.52
%
               
*Annualized
             
 
Total returns are calculated based on the change in value during the period. An individual limited partner’s total return and ratio may vary from the above total returns and ratios based on the timing of contributions to and withdrawals from USOF.

NOTE 7 – RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Fair Value of Financial Instruments
 
Effective January 1, 2008, USOF adopted FAS 157 - Fair Value Measurements (“FAS 157” or the “Statement”). FAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), and expands disclosures about fair value measurement. The changes to current practice resulting from the application of the Statement relate to the definition of fair value, the methods used to measure fair value, and the expanded disclosures about fair value measurement. The Statement establishes a fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between (1) market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of USOF (observable inputs) and (2) USOF’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available under the circumstances (unobservable inputs). The three levels defined by the FAS 157 hierarchy are as follows:
 
Level I Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
 
Level II Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level II assets include the following: quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market-corroborated inputs).
 
Level III Unobservable pricing input at the measurement date for the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs shall be used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available.

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In some instances, the inputs used to measure fair value might fall in different levels of the fair value hierarchy. The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls shall be determined based on the lowest input level that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.
 
The following table summarizes the valuation of USOF’s securities at September 30, 2008 using the fair value hierarchy:

At September 30, 2008
 
Total
 
Level I
 
Level II
 
Level III
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Investments
 
$
779,381,618
 
$
779,381,618
 
$
-
 
$
-
 
Derivative assets
   
(26,658,040
)
 
(26,658,040
)
 
-
   
-
 

NOTE 8 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
 
On September 18. 2008, USOF announced that it would transfer the listing of its limited partnership units that are listed on the AMEX to the NYSE Arca, Inc. in connection with NYSE Euronext’s acquisition of the AMEX. USOF expects that the listing transfer will occur sometime during the fourth quarter of 2008.

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
 
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed financial statements and the notes thereto of the United States Oil Fund, LP (“USOF”) included elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
 
Forward-Looking Information
 
This quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward-looking statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations. This information may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause USOF’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe USOF’s future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend” or “project,” the negative of these words, other variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and USOF cannot assure investors that the projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. USOF’s actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
 
USOF has based the forward-looking statements included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q on information available to it on the date of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and USOF assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Although USOF undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, investors are advised to consult any additional disclosures that USOF may make directly to them or through reports that USOF in the future files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.
 
Introduction

USOF, a Delaware limited partnership, is a commodity pool that issues units that may be purchased and sold the American Stock Exchange (the “AMEX”). On September 18, 2008, USOF announced that it would transfer the listing of its limited partnership units that are listed on the AMEX to the NYSE Arca, Inc. in connection with NYSE Euronext’s acquisition of the AMEX. USOF expects that the listing transfer will occur sometime during the fourth quarter of 2008. The investment objective of USOF is for changes in percentage terms of its units’ net asset value (“NAV”) on a daily basis to reflect the changes in percentage terms in the spot price of light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, also on a daily basis, as measured by the changes in the price of the futures contract on light, sweet crude oil as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the “NYMEX”) that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case the futures contract will be the next month contract to expire, less USOF’s expenses.

USOF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a combination of oil futures contracts and other oil interests such that changes in its NAV, measured in percentage terms, will closely track the changes in the price of a specified oil futures contract (the “Benchmark Oil Futures Contract”), also measured in percentage terms. USOF’s general partner believes the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract historically has exhibited a close correlation with the spot price of light, sweet crude oil. It is not the intent of USOF to be operated in a fashion such that the NAV will equal, in dollar terms, the spot price of light, sweet crude oil or any particular futures contract based on light, sweet crude oil. Management believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in listed crude oil futures contracts.
 
On any valuation day, the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract is the near month futures contract for light, sweet crude oil traded on the NYMEX unless the near month contract will expire within two weeks of the valuation day, in which case the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract is the next month contract for light, sweet crude oil traded on the NYMEX. “Near month contract” means the next contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire. “Next month contract” means the first contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire after the near month contract.

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USOF may also invest in futures contracts for other types of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other U.S. and foreign exchanges (collectively, “Oil Futures Contracts”) and other oil interests such as cash-settled options on Oil Futures Contracts, forward contracts for oil and over-the-counter transactions that are based on the price of oil, other petroleum-based fuels, Oil Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, “Other Oil Interests”). For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests collectively are referred to as “Oil Interests” in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

The general partner of USOF, United States Commodity Funds LLC (formerly, Victoria Bay Asset Management, LLC) (the “General Partner”), which is registered as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), is authorized by the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of USOF (the “LP Agreement”) to manage USOF. The General Partner is authorized by USOF in its sole judgment to employ and establish the terms of employment for, and termination of, commodity trading advisors or futures commission merchants.
 
Valuation of Oil Futures Contracts and the Computation of the NAV

The NAV of USOF units is calculated once each trading day as of the earlier of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) or 4:00 p.m. New York time. The NAV for a particular trading day is released after 4:15 p.m. New York time. Trading on the NYSE typically closes at 4:00 p.m. New York time. USOF uses the NYMEX closing price (determined at the earlier of the close of the NYMEX or 2:30 p.m. New York time) for the contracts held on the NYMEX, but calculates or determines the value of all other USOF investments, including ICE Futures contracts or other futures contracts, as of the earlier of the close of the NYSE or 4:00 p.m. New York time.

Management’s Discussion of Results of Operations and the Crude Oil Market

Results of Operations.  On April 10, 2006, USOF listed its units on the AMEX under the ticker symbol “USO.” On that day, USOF established its initial offering price at $67.39 per unit and issued 200,000 units to the initial authorized purchaser, KV Execution Services LLC, in exchange for $13,479,000 in cash. 
 
Since its initial offering of 17,000,000 units, USOF has made five subsequent offerings of its units: 30,000,000 units that were registered with the SEC on October 18, 2006, 50,000,000 units that were registered with the SEC on January 30, 2007, 30,000,000 units that were registered with the SEC on December 4, 2007, 100,000,000 units that were registered with the SEC on February 7, 2008 and an additional 100,000,000 units that were registered with the SEC on September 29, 2008. Units offered by USOF in subsequent offerings were sold by it for cash at the units’ NAV as described in the applicable prospectus. As of September 30, 2008, USOF had issued 205,700,000 units, 20,000,000 of which were outstanding. As of September 30, 2008 there were 121,300,000 units registered but not yet issued.

More units may have been issued by USOF than are outstanding due to the redemption of units. Unlike funds that are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, units that have been redeemed by USOF cannot be resold by USOF. As a result, USOF contemplates that additional offerings of its units will be registered with the SEC in the future in anticipation of additional issuances and redemptions.
 
As of September 30, 2008, the total unrealized loss on Oil Futures Contracts owned or held on that day was $26,658,040 and USOF established cash deposits, including cash investments in money market funds, that were equal to $1,701,783,696. The majority of cash assets were held in overnight deposits at USOF’s custodian bank, while 28.09% of the cash balance was held with the futures commission merchant as margin deposits for the Oil Futures Contracts purchased. The ending per unit NAV on September 30, 2008 was $81.18.
 
Portfolio Expenses. USOF’s expenses consist of investment management fees, brokerage fees and commissions, certain offering costs, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent directors of the General Partner. The management fee that USOF pays to the General Partner is calculated as a percentage of the total net assets of USOF. For total net assets of up to $1 billion, the management fee is 0.50%. For total net assets over $1 billion, the management fee is 0.20% on the incremental amount of assets. The fee is accrued daily.

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During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, the daily average total net assets of USOF were $810,780,060. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, the total net assets of USOF did exceed $1 billion. The management fee paid by USOF during the period amounted to $2,805,644. Management fees as a percentage of total net assets averaged 0.46% over the course of this nine month period. By comparison, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, the average daily total net assets of USOF were $815,003,993. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, the total net assets of USOF did exceed $1 billion on a number of days. The management fee paid by USOF for this nine month period amounted to $3,007,089, which was calculated at the 0.50% rate for total net assets up to and including $1 billion and at the rate of 0.20% on average net assets over $1 billion, and accrued daily. Management fees as a percentage of average net assets averaged 0.50% over the course of this nine month period. Beginning January 1, 2009, the management fee paid by USOF will be calculated at the rate of 0.45% for all total net assets and accrue daily.

USOF pays for all brokerage fees, taxes and other expenses, including certain tax reporting costs, licensing fees for the use of intellectual property, ongoing registration or other fees paid to the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and any other regulatory agency in connection with offers and sales of its units subsequent to the initial offering and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated therewith.  For the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF incurred $393,787 in ongoing registration fees and other offering expenses. USOF is responsible for paying the fees and expenses, including directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, of the independent directors of the General Partner who are also audit committee members. USOF shares these fees with USNG, US12OF, USG and USHO based on the relative assets of each fund computed on a daily basis. These fees for calendar year 2008 are estimated to be a total of $286,000 for all five funds. By comparison, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, USOF incurred $384,058 in ongoing registration fees and other offering expenses. In addition, USOF agreed to pay the independent directors $184,000 to cover their expenses and pay for their services for 2007.

USOF also incurs commissions to brokers for the purchase and sale of Oil Futures Contracts, Other Oil Interests or short-term obligations of the United States of two years or less (“Treasuries”). During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, total commissions paid to brokers amounted to $891,642. Prior to the initial offering of its units, USOF had estimated that its annual level of such commissions was expected to be 0.35% of total net assets. As an annualized percentage of average net assets, the figure for the nine month period ended September 30, 2008 represented approximately 0.15% of average net assets. By comparison, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, total commissions paid amounted to $951,049. As an annualized percentage of average net assets, the figure for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007 represented approximately 0.16% of average net assets. However, there can be no assurance that commission costs and portfolio turnover will not cause commission expenses to rise in future quarters.

Interest Income. USOF seeks to invest its assets such that it holds Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests in an amount equal to the total net assets of the portfolio. Typically, such investments do not require USOF to pay the full amount of the contract value at the time of purchase, but rather require USOF to post an amount as a margin deposit against the eventual settlement of the contract. As a result, USOF retains an amount that is approximately equal to its total net assets, which USOF invests in Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents. This includes both the amount on deposit with the futures commission merchant as margin, as well as unrestricted cash held with USOF’s custodian bank. The Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents earn interest that accrues on a daily basis. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF earned $12,213,272 in interest income on such cash holdings. Based on USOF’s average daily total net assets during this time period, this is equivalent to an annualized yield of 2.01%. USOF did not purchase Treasuries during the nine month period ended September 30, 2008 and held all of its funds in cash and/or cash equivalents during this time period. By comparison, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, USOF earned $30,175,872 in interest income on cash holdings. Based on USOF’s average daily total net assets during this time period, this is equivalent to an annualized yield of 4.95%.

Tracking USOF’s Benchmark. USOF seeks to manage its portfolio such that changes in its average daily NAV, on a percentage basis, closely track changes in the average of the daily price of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract, also on a percentage basis. Specifically, USOF seeks to manage the portfolio such that over any rolling period of 30 valuation days, the average daily change in the NAV is within a range of 90% to 110% (0.9 to 1.1) of the average daily change of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract. As an example, if the average daily movement of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract for a particular 30-day time period was 0.5% per day, USOF management would attempt to manage the portfolio such that the average daily movement of the NAV during that same time period fell between 0.45% and 0.55% (i.e., between 0.9 and 1.1 of the benchmark’s results). USOF’s portfolio management goals do not include trying to make the nominal price of USOF’s NAV equal to the nominal price of the current Benchmark Oil Futures Contract or the spot price for crude oil. Management believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in listed Oil Futures Contracts.

16


For the 30 valuation days ended September 30, 2008, the simple average daily change in the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract was (0.323)%, while the simple average daily change in the NAV of USOF over the same time period was (0.319)%. The average daily difference was 0.004% (or 0.4 basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%). As a percentage of the daily movement of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract, the average error in daily tracking by the NAV was 0.8%, meaning that over this time period USOF’s tracking error was within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.


*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

17



*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Since the offering of USOF units to the public on April 10, 2006 to September 30, 2008, the simple average daily change in the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract was 0.041%, while the simple average daily change in the NAV of USOF over the same time period was 0.050%. The average daily difference was 0.009% (or 0.9 basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%). As a percentage of the daily movement of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract, the average error in daily tracking by the NAV was 2.432%, meaning that over this time period USOF’s tracking error was within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.

An alternative tracking measurement of the return performance of USOF versus the return of its Benchmark Oil Futures Contract can be calculated by comparing the actual return of USOF, measured by changes in its NAV, versus the expected changes in its NAV under the assumption that USOF’s returns had been exactly the same as the daily changes in its Benchmark Oil Futures Contract.
 
For the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, the actual total return of USOF as measured by changes in its NAV was 7.07%. This is based on an initial NAV of $75.82 on December 31, 2007 and an ending NAV as of September 30, 2008 of $81.18. During this time period, USOF made no distributions to its unitholders. However, if USOF’s daily changes in its NAV had instead exactly tracked the changes in the daily return of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract, USOF would have ended the third quarter of 2008 with an estimated NAV of $80.46, for a total return over the relevant time period of 6.13%. The difference between the actual NAV total return of USOF of 7.07% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract of 6.13% was an error over the time period of 0.94%, which is to say that USOF’s actual total return exceeded the benchmark result by that percentage. Management believes that a portion of the difference between the actual return and the expected benchmark return can be attributed to the impact of the interest that USOF collects on its cash and cash equivalent holdings. In addition, during the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF also collected fees from brokerage firms creating or redeeming baskets of units. This income also contributed to USOF’s actual return exceeding the benchmark results. However, if the total assets of USOF continue to increase, management believes that the impact on total returns of these fees from creations and redemptions will diminish as a percentage of the total return.

18


By comparison, for the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, the actual total return of USOF as measured by changes in its NAV was 20.80%. This was based on an initial NAV of $51.87 on January 1, 2007 and an ending NAV as of September 30, 2007 of $62.66. During this time period, USOF made no distributions to its unitholders. However, if USOF’s daily changes in its NAV had instead exactly tracked the changes in the daily return of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract, USOF would have ended the third quarter of 2007 with an estimated NAV of $60.76, for a total return over the relevant time period of 17.14%. The difference between the actual NAV total return of USOF of 20.80% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract of 17.14% was an error over the time period of 3.66%, which is to say that USOF’s actual total return exceeded the benchmark result by that percentage. Management believes that a portion of the difference between the actual return and the expected benchmark return can be attributed to the impact of the interest that USOF collects on its cash and cash equivalent holdings. In addition, during the nine month period ended September 30, 2007, USOF also collected fees from brokerage firms creating or redeeming baskets of units. This income also contributed to USOF’s actual return exceeding the benchmark results.

There are currently three factors that have impacted, during the latest period, or are most likely to impact, USOF’s ability to accurately track its Benchmark Oil Futures Contract.

First, USOF may buy or sell its holdings in the then current Benchmark Oil Futures Contract at a price other than the closing settlement price of that contract on the day in which USOF executes the trade. In that case, USOF may get a price that is higher, or lower, than that of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract, which could cause the changes in the daily NAV of USOF to either be too high or too low relative to the changes in the daily benchmark. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, management attempted to minimize the effect of these transactions by seeking to execute its purchases or sales of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contracts at, or as close as possible to, the end of the day settlement price. However, it may not always be possible for USOF to obtain the closing settlement price and there is no assurance that failure to obtain the closing settlement price in the future will not adversely impact USOF’s attempt to track its benchmark over time.

Second, USOF earns interest on its cash, cash equivalents and Treasury holdings. USOF is not required to distribute any portion of its income to its unitholders and did not make any distributions to unitholders during the nine month period ended September 30, 2008. Interest payments, and any other income, were retained within the portfolio and added to USOF’s NAV. When this income exceeds the level of USOF’s expenses for its management fee, brokerage commissions and other expenses (including ongoing registration fees, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent directors of the General Partner), USOF will realize a net yield that will tend to cause daily changes in the NAV of USOF to track slightly higher than daily changes in the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF earned, on an annualized basis, approximately 2.01% on its cash holdings. It also incurred cash expenses on an annualized basis of 0.46% for management fees and approximately 0.15% in brokerage commission costs related to the purchase and sale of futures contracts, and 0.30% for other expenses. The foregoing fees and expenses resulted in a net yield on an annualized basis of approximately 1.10% and affected USOF’s ability to track its benchmark. If short-term interest rates rise above the current levels, the level of deviation created by the yield would increase. Conversely, if short-term interest rates were to decline, the amount of error created by the yield would decrease. If short-term yields drop to a level lower than the combined expenses of the management fee and the brokerage commissions, then the tracking error would become a negative number and would tend to cause the daily returns of the NAV to underperform the daily returns of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract.
 
Third, USOF may hold Other Oil Interests in its portfolio that may fail to closely track the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract’s total return movements. In that case, the error in tracking the benchmark could result in daily changes in the NAV of USOF that are either too high, or too low, relative to the daily changes in the benchmark. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF did not hold any Other Oil Interests. However, there can be no assurance that in future quarters USOF will not make use of such Other Oil Interests.

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During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, the prices of front month Benchmark Oil Futures Contracts rose from near the $96.00 level to approximately the $100.60 level. The prices of front month contracts were also higher than the prices of second month contracts for most of the first quarter of 2008 and the first half of the second quarter of 2008. The price of the front month contract was less than the second month contract for the balance of the second quarter of 2008 and most of the third quarter of 2008, although the front month price finished the end of the third quarter of 2008 higher than the second month contract.
 
Term Structure of Crude Oil Futures Prices and the Impact on Total Returns. Several factors determine the total return from investing in a futures contract position. One factor that impacts the total return that will result from investing in near month crude oil futures contracts and “rolling” those contracts forward each month is the price relationship between the current near month contract and the later month contracts. For example, if the price of the near month contract is higher than the next month contract (a situation referred to as “backwardation” in the futures market), then absent any other change there is a tendency for the price of a next month contract to rise in value as it becomes the near month contract and approaches expiration. Conversely, if the price of a near month contract is lower than the next month contract (a situation referred to as “contango” in the futures market), then absent any other change there is a tendency for the price of a next month contract to decline in value as it becomes the near month contract and approaches expiration.

As an example, assume that the price of crude oil for immediate delivery (the “spot” price), was $50 per barrel, and the value of a position in the near month futures contract was also $50. Over time, the price of the barrel of crude oil will fluctuate based on a number of market factors, including demand for oil relative to its supply. The value of the near month contract will likewise fluctuate in reaction to a number of market factors. If investors seek to maintain their position in a near month contract and not take delivery of the oil, every month they must sell their current near month contract as it approaches expiration and invest in the next month contract.

If the futures market is in backwardation, e.g., when the expected price of crude oil in the future would be less, the investor would be buying a next month contract for a lower price than the current near month contract. Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes to either prevailing crude oil prices or the price relationship between the spot price, the near month contract and the next month contract (and ignoring the impact of commission costs and the interest earned on Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents), the value of the next month contract would rise as it approaches expiration and becomes the new near month contract. In this example, the value of the $50 investment would tend to rise faster than the spot price of crude oil, or fall slower. As a result, it would be possible in this hypothetical example for the price of spot crude oil to have risen to $60 after some period of time, while the value of the investment in the futures contract would have risen to $65, assuming backwardation is large enough or enough time has elapsed. Similarly, the spot price of crude oil could have fallen to $40 while the value of an investment in the futures contract could have fallen to only $45. Over time, if backwardation remained constant, the difference would continue to increase.

If the futures market is in contango, the investor would be buying a next month contract for a higher price than the current near month contract. Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes to either prevailing crude oil prices or the price relationship between the spot price, the near month contract and the next month contract (and ignoring the impact of commission costs and the interest earned on cash), the value of the next month contract would fall as it approaches expiration and becomes the new near month contract. In this example, it would mean that the value of the $50 investment would tend to rise slower than the spot price of crude oil, or fall faster. As a result, it would be possible in this hypothetical example for the spot price of crude oil to have risen to $60 after some period of time, while the value of the investment in the futures contract will have risen to only $55, assuming contango is large enough or enough time has elapsed. Similarly, the spot price of crude oil could have fallen to $45 while the value of an investment in the futures contract could have fallen to $40. Over time, if contango remained constant, the difference would continue to increase.

The chart below compares the price of the near month contract to the average price of the first 12 months over the last 10 years (1998-2007). When the price of the near month contract is higher than the average price of the front 12 month contracts, the market would be described as being in backwardation. When the price of the near month contract is lower than the average price of the front 12 month contracts, the market would be described as being in contango. Although the prices of the near month contract and the average price of the front 12 month contracts do tend to move up or down together, it can be seen that at times the near month prices are clearly higher than the average price of the 12 month contracts (backwardation), and other times they are below the average price of the front 12 month contracts (contango).

20



*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

An alternative way to view the same data is to subtract from the dollar price of the near month contract the average dollar price of the front 12 month contracts. If the resulting number is a positive number, then the near month price is higher than the average price of the front 12 months and the market could be described as being in backwardation. If the resulting number is a negative number, then the near month price is lower than the average price of the front 12 months and the market could be described as being in contango. The chart below shows the results from subtracting from the near month price the average price of the front 12 month contracts for the 10 year period between 1998 and 2007.


21



*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

An investment in a portfolio that involved owning only the near month contract would likely produce a different result than an investment in a portfolio that owned an equal number of each of the front 12 months’ worth of contracts. Generally speaking, when the crude oil futures market is in backwardation, the near month only portfolio would tend to have a higher total return than the 12 month portfolio. Conversely, if the crude oil futures market was in contango, the portfolio containing 12 months’ worth of contracts would tend to outperform the near month only portfolio. The chart below shows the results of owning a portfolio consisting of the near month contract versus a portfolio containing the front 12 months’ worth of contracts. In this example, each month, the near month only portfolio would sell the near month contract at expiration and buy the next month out contract. The portfolio holding an equal number of the front 12 months’ worth of contracts would sell the near month contract at expiration and replace it with the contract that becomes the new twelfth month contract.

22



*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

As seen in the chart, there have been periods of both positive and negative annual total returns for both portfolios over the last 10 years. In addition, there have been periods during which the near month only approach had higher returns, and periods where the 12 month approach had higher total returns. The above chart does not represent the performance history of USOF or any affiliated funds.

Historically, the oil futures markets have experienced periods of contango and backwardation, with backwardation being in place more often than contango. During the previous two years, including 2006 and the first half of 2007, these markets have experienced contango. However, starting early in the third quarter of 2007, the crude oil futures market moved into backwardation. The crude oil markets remained in backwardation until late in the second quarter of 2008 when they moved into contango. The crude oil markets remained in contango until late in the third quarter of 2008, when the markets moved into backwardation. While the investment objective of USOF is not to have the market price of its units match, dollar for dollar, changes in the spot price of oil, contango and backwardation have impacted the total return on an investment in USOF units during the past year relative to a hypothetical direct investment in crude oil. For example, an investment made in USOF units made during the second quarter of 2007, a period of contango in the crude oil markets, decreased by -0.71%, while the spot price of crude oil for immediate delivery during the same period increased by 7.30%. Conversely, an investment made in USOF units during the third quarter of 2007, a period in which the crude oil futures market was mostly in backwardation, increased by 17.82% while the spot price of crude oil increased by 15.53% (note: these comparisons ignore the potential costs associated with physically owning and storing crude oil which could be substantial).

Periods of contango or backwardation do not meaningfully impact USOF’s investment objective of having percentage changes in its per unit NAV track percentage changes in the price of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract since the impact of backwardation and contango tended to equally impact the percentage changes in price of both USOF’s units and the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract. It is impossible to predict with any degree of certainty whether backwardation or contango will occur in the future. It is likely that both conditions will occur during different periods.

23


Crude Oil Market. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, crude oil prices were impacted by several factors. On the consumption side, demand remained strong outside the United States as continued global economic growth, especially in emerging economies such as China and India, remained brisk. Additionally, the U.S. dollar, the currency in which crude oil is traded globally, continued to fall, effectively making crude oil cheaper for most non-U.S. dollar economies. Crude oil prices reached an all time high in July 2008 when the front month contract price reached approximately $145 a barrel.

However, concerns about a weakening U.S. economy leading to reduced demand for oil products became a major factor late in the third quarter of 2008. On the supply side, production remained steady despite concerns about violence impacting production in Iraq and Nigeria. Political tensions between Iran and the United States also contributed to market concerns about interruptions in production. At the same time, a concern remained about the ability of major oil producing countries to continue to raise their production to accommodate increasing demand. However, oil prices reversed their upward trend and fell sharply late in the third quarter of 2008 as a slowing U.S. economy, and flat demand growth outside of the U.S., was enough to improve the global supply and demand balance. The front month futures contract ended the third quarter of 2008 at approximately $100, down 31% from its July highs.
 
Crude Oil Price Movements in Comparison to other Energy Commodities and Investment Categories. The General Partner believes that investors frequently measure the degree to which prices or total returns of one investment or asset class move up or down in value in concert with another investment or asset class. Statistically, such a measure is usually done by measuring the correlation of the price movements of the two different investments or asset classes over some period of time. The correlation is scaled between 1 and -1, where 1 indicates that the two investment options move up or down in price or value together, known as “positive correlation,” and -1 indicating that they move in completely opposite directions, known as “negative correlation.” A correlation of 0 would mean that the movements of the two are neither positively or negatively correlated, known as “non-correlation.” That is, the investment options sometimes move up and down together and other times move in opposite directions.

For the ten year time period between 1997 and 2007, the chart below compares the monthly movements of crude oil versus the monthly movements of several other energy commodities, natural gas, heating oil, and gasoline, as well as several major non-commodity investment asset classes such as large cap U.S. equities, U.S. government bonds and global equities. It can be seen that over this particular time period, the movement of crude oil on a monthly basis was NOT strongly correlated, positively or negatively, with the movements of large cap U.S. equities, U.S. government bonds or global equities. However, movements in crude oil had a strong positive correlation to movements in heating oil and unleaded gasoline. Finally, crude oil had a positive, but weaker, correlation with natural gas.

10 Year Correlation Matrix 1997-2007
 
Large Cap US Equities (S&P 500)
 
U.S. Govt. Bonds (EFFAS U.S. Government Bond Index)
 
Global Equities (FTSE World Index)
 
Unleaded Gasoline
 
Natural Gas
 
Heating Oil
 
Crude Oil
 
Large Cap U.S. Equities (S&P 500)
   
1
   
-0.237
   
0.949
   
-0.087
   
-0.008
   
-0.065
   
-0.037
 
US Govt. Bonds (EFFAS U.S. Government Bond Index)
       
1
   
-0.259
   
-0.175
   
0.197
   
0.065
   
0.033
 
Global Equities (FTSE World Index)
             
1
   
0.124
   
0.029
   
-0.003
   
0.040
 
Gasoline
                   
1
   
0.267
   
0.663
   
0.634
 
Natural Gas
                         
1
   
0.480
   
0.344
 
Heating Oil
                               
1
   
0.802
 
Crude Oil
                                     
1
 
source: Bloomberg, NYMEX
                             

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Investors are cautioned that the historical price relationships between crude oil and various other energy commodities, as well as other investment asset classes, as measured by correlation may not be reliable predictors of future price movements and correlation results. The results pictured above would have been different if a different range of dates had been selected. The General Partner believes that crude oil has historically not demonstrated a strong correlation with equities or bonds over long periods of time. However, the General Partner also believes that in the future it is possible that crude oil could have long term correlation results that indicate prices of crude oil more closely track the movements of equities or bonds. In addition, the General Partner believes that, when measured over time periods shorter than ten years, there will always be some periods where the correlation of crude oil to equities and bonds will be either more strongly positively correlated or more strongly negatively correlated than the long term historical results suggest.
 
 
24

 

The chart below covers a more recent, but much shorter, range of dates than the above chart. Over the nine months ended September 30, 2008, crude oil continued to have a strong positive correlation with heating oil and gasoline. During this period it also had a stronger correlation with the movements of natural gas than it had displayed over the prior ten year period. Notably, the correlation between crude oil and both large cap U.S. equities and global equities, which had been essentially non-correlated over the prior ten years, displayed results that indicated that they had a weak but positive correlation over this shorter time period, particularly due to the recent downturn in the U.S. economy. Finally, the results showed that crude oil and U.S. government bonds, which had essentially been non-correlated for the prior ten year period, were weakly negatively correlated over this more recent time period.

Correlation Matrix 2008 YTD (9 months)
 
Large Cap US Equities (S&P 500)
 
U.S. Govt. Bonds (EFFAS U.S. Government Bond Index)
 
Global Equities (FTSE World Index)
 
Unleaded Gasoline
 
Natural Gas
 
Heating Oil
 
Crude Oil
 
Large Cap U.S. Equities (S&P 500)
   
1
   
-0.641
   
0.920
   
0.565
   
-0.152
   
0.214
   
0.289
 
US Govt. Bonds (EFFAS U.S. Government Bond Index)
       
1
   
-0.682
   
-0.581
   
-0.045
   
-0.414
   
-0.507
 
Global Equities (FTSE World Index)
             
1
   
0.760
   
0.108
   
0.496
   
0.575
 
Gasoline
                   
1
   
0.650
   
0.900
   
0.923
 
Natural Gas
                         
1
   
0.805
   
0.771
 
Heating Oil
                               
1
   
0.914
 
Crude Oil
                                     
1
 
source: Bloomberg, NYMEX
                             
 
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
Critical Accounting Policies

Preparation of the condensed financial statements and related disclosures in compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires the application of appropriate accounting rules and guidance, as well as the use of estimates. USOF’s application of these policies involves judgments and actual results may differ from the estimates used.
 
The General Partner has evaluated the nature and types of estimates that it makes in preparing USOF’s condensed financial statements and related disclosures and has determined that the valuation of its investments which are not traded on a United States or internationally recognized futures exchange (such as forward contracts and over-the-counter contracts) involves a critical accounting policy.  The values which are used by USOF for its forward contracts are provided by its commodity broker who uses market prices when available, while over-the-counter contracts are valued based on the present value of estimated future cash flows that would be received from or paid to a third party in settlement of these derivative contracts prior to their delivery date and valued on a daily basis. In addition, USOF estimates interest income on a daily basis using prevailing interest rates earned on its cash and cash equivalents. These estimates are adjusted to the actual amount received on a monthly basis and the difference, if any, is not considered material.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

USOF has not made, and does not anticipate making, use of borrowings or other lines of credit to meet its obligations. USOF has met, and it is anticipated that USOF will continue to meet, its liquidity needs in the normal course of business from the proceeds of the sale of its investments or from the Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents that it intends to hold at all times. USOF’s liquidity needs include: redeeming units, providing margin deposits for its existing Oil Futures Contracts or the purchase of additional Oil Futures Contracts and posting collateral for its over-the-counter contracts and payment of its expenses, summarized below under “Contractual Obligations.”

USOF currently generates cash primarily from (i) the sale of Creation Baskets and (ii) interest earned on Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents. USOF has allocated substantially all of its net assets to trading in Oil Interests. USOF invests in Oil Interests to the fullest extent possible without being leveraged or unable to satisfy its current or potential margin or collateral obligations with respect to its investments in Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests. A significant portion of the NAV is held in cash and cash equivalents that are used as margin and as collateral for USOF’s trading in Oil Interests. The percentage that Treasuries will bear to the total net assets will vary from period to period as the market values of the Oil Interests change. The balance of the net assets is held in USOF’s Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests trading account. Interest earned on USOF’s interest-bearing funds is paid to USOF.

25


USOF’s investment in Oil Interests may be subject to periods of illiquidity because of market conditions, regulatory considerations and other reasons. For example, most commodity exchanges limit the fluctuations in Oil Futures Contracts prices during a single day by regulations referred to as “daily limits.” During a single day, no trades may be executed at prices beyond the daily limit. Once the price of an Oil Futures Contract has increased or decreased by an amount equal to the daily limit, positions in the contracts can neither be taken nor liquidated unless the traders are willing to effect trades at or within the specified daily limit. Such market conditions could prevent USOF from promptly liquidating its positions in Oil Futures Contracts. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF was not forced to purchase or liquidate any of its positions while daily limits were in effect; however, USOF cannot predict whether such an event may occur in the future.
 
Prior to March 23, 2007, all payments with respect to USOF’s and the General Partner’s expenses were paid by their affiliates. Neither USOF nor the General Partner has any obligation or intention to refund such payments by their affiliates. These affiliates are under no obligation to pay USOF’s or the General Partner’s current or future expenses. If the General Partner and USOF are unsuccessful in raising sufficient funds to cover USOF’s expenses or in locating any other source of funding, USOF will terminate and investors may lose all or part of their investment.     
 
Market Risk

Trading in Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests, such as forwards, involves USOF entering into contractual commitments to purchase or sell oil at a specified date in the future. The gross or face amount of the contracts will significantly exceed USOF’s future cash requirements since USOF intends to close out its open positions prior to settlement. As a result, USOF is generally only subject to the risk of loss arising from the change in value of the contracts. USOF considers the “fair value” of its derivative instruments to be the unrealized gain or loss on the contracts. The market risk associated with USOF’s commitments to purchase oil is limited to the gross face amount of the contracts held. However, should USOF enter into a contractual commitment to sell oil, it would be required to make delivery of the oil at the contract price, repurchase the contract at prevailing prices or settle in cash. Since there are no limits on the future price of oil, the market risk to USOF could be unlimited.
 
USOF’s exposure to market risk depends on a number of factors, including the markets for oil, the volatility of interest rates and foreign exchange rates, the liquidity of the Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests markets and the relationships among the contracts held by USOF. The limited experience that USOF has had in utilizing its model to trade in Oil Interests in a manner intended to track the changes in the spot price of crude oil, as well as drastic market occurrences, could ultimately lead to the loss of all or substantially all of an investor’s capital.
 
Credit Risk

When USOF enters into Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests, it is exposed to the credit risk that the counterparty will not be able to meet its obligations. The counterparty for the Oil Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and on most other foreign futures exchanges is the clearinghouse associated with the particular exchange. In general, clearinghouses are backed by their members who may be required to share in the financial burden resulting from the nonperformance of one of their members and, therefore, this additional member support should significantly reduce credit risk. Some foreign exchanges are not backed by their clearinghouse members but may be backed by a consortium of banks or other financial institutions. There can be no assurance that any counterparty, clearinghouse, or their members or their financial backers will satisfy their obligations to USOF in such circumstances.

The General Partner attempts to manage the credit risk of USOF by following various trading limitations and policies. In particular, USOF generally posts margin and/or holds liquid assets that are approximately equal to the face amount of its obligations to counterparties under the Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil Interests it holds. The General Partner has implemented procedures that include, but are not limited to, executing and clearing trades only with creditworthy parties and/or requiring the posting of collateral or margin by such parties for the benefit of USOF to limit its credit exposure. UBS Securities LLC, USOF’s commodity broker, or any other broker that may be retained by USOF in the future, when acting as USOF’s futures commission merchant in accepting orders to purchase or sell Oil Futures Contracts on United States exchanges, is required by CFTC regulations to separately account for and segregate as belonging to USOF, all assets of USOF relating to domestic Oil Futures Contracts trading. These futures commission merchants are not allowed to commingle USOF’s assets with its other assets. In addition, the CFTC requires commodity brokers to hold in a secure account the USOF assets related to foreign Oil Futures Contracts trading.

26


As of September 30, 2008, USOF had deposits in domestic and foreign financial institutions, including cash investments in money market funds, in the amount of $1,701,783,696. This amount is subject to loss should these institutions cease operations.

Off Balance Sheet Financing

As of September 30, 2008, USOF has no loan guarantee, credit support or other off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered into in the normal course of business, which may include indemnification provisions relating to certain risks that service providers undertake in performing services which are in the best interests of USOF. While USOF’s exposure under these indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, they are not expected to have a material impact on USOF’s financial position.

Redemption Basket Obligation

In order to meet its investment objective and pay its contractual obligations described below, USOF requires liquidity to redeem units, which redemptions must be in blocks of 100,000 units called “Redemption Baskets”. USOF has to date satisfied this obligation by paying from the cash or cash equivalents it holds or through the sale of its Treasuries in an amount proportionate to the number of units being redeemed.
 
Contractual Obligations

USOF’s primary contractual obligations are with the General Partner. In return for its services, the General Partner is entitled to a management fee calculated as a fixed percentage of USOF’s NAV, currently 0.50% for a NAV of $1 billion or less, and thereafter 0.20% for a NAV above $1 billion.

The General Partner agreed to pay the start-up costs associated with the formation of USOF, primarily its legal, accounting and other costs in connection with the General Partner’s registration with the CFTC as a CPO and the registration and listing of USOF and its units with the SEC, FINRA and the AMEX, respectively. However, offering costs incurred in connection with registering and listing additional units of USOF are directly borne on an ongoing basis by USOF, and not by the General Partner.
 
The General Partner pays the fees of USOF’s marketing agent, ALPS Distributors, Inc., and the fees of the custodian and transfer agent, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH&Co.”), as well as BBH&Co.’s fees for performing administrative services, including in connection with the preparation of USOF’s condensed financial statements and its SEC and CFTC reports. The General Partner and USOF have also entered into a licensing agreement with the NYMEX pursuant to which USOF and the affiliated funds managed by the General Partner pay a licensing fee to the NYMEX. The General Partner also pays any fees for implementation of services and base service fees charged by the accounting firm responsible for preparing USOF’s tax reporting forms; however, USOF pays the fees and expenses associated with its tax accounting and reporting requirements.
 
In addition to the General Partner’s management fee, USOF pays its brokerage fees (including fees to a futures commission merchant), over-the-counter dealer spreads, any licensing fees for the use of intellectual property, and, subsequent to the initial offering, registration and other fees paid to the SEC, FINRA, or other regulatory agencies in connection with the offer and sale of units, as well as legal, printing, accounting and other expenses associated therewith, and extraordinary expenses. The latter are expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of USOF’s business, including expenses relating to the indemnification of any person against liabilities and obligations to the extent permitted by law and under the LP Agreement, the bringing or defending of actions in law or in equity or otherwise conducting litigation and incurring legal expenses and the settlement of claims and litigation. Commission payments to a futures commission merchant are on a contract-by-contract, or round turn, basis. USOF also pays a portion of the fees and expenses of the independent directors of the General Partner. See Note 3 to the Notes to Condensed Financial Statements (Unaudited).
 
The parties cannot anticipate the amount of payments that will be required under these arrangements for future periods, as USOF’s NAVs and trading levels to meet its investment objectives will not be known until a future date. These agreements are effective for a specific term agreed upon by the parties with an option to renew, or, in some cases, are in effect for the duration of USOF’s existence. Either party may terminate these agreements earlier for certain reasons described in the agreements.    

27


Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
 
Over-the-Counter Derivatives (Including Spreads and Straddles)
 
In the future, USOF may purchase over-the-counter contracts. Unlike most of the exchange-traded Oil Futures Contracts or exchange-traded options on such futures, each party to an over-the-counter contract bears the credit risk that the other party may not be able to perform its obligations under its contract.
 
Some crude oil-based derivatives transactions contain fairly generic terms and conditions and are available from a wide range of participants. Other crude oil-based derivatives have highly customized terms and conditions and are not as widely available. Many of these over-the-counter contracts are cash-settled forwards for the future delivery of crude oil- or petroleum-based fuels that have terms similar to the Oil Futures Contracts. Others take the form of “swaps” in which the two parties exchange cash flows based on pre-determined formulas tied to the spot price of crude oil, forward crude oil prices or crude oil futures prices. For example, USOF may enter into over-the-counter derivative contracts whose value will be tied to changes in the difference between the spot price of light, sweet crude oil, the price of Oil Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and the prices of other Oil Futures Contracts that may be invested in by USOF.
 
To protect itself from the credit risk that arises in connection with such contracts, USOF may enter into agreements with each counterparty that provide for the netting of its overall exposure to such counterparty, such as the agreements published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. USOF also may require that the counterparty be highly rated and/or provide collateral or other credit support to address USOF’s exposure to the counterparty. In addition, it is also possible for USOF and its counterparty to agree to clear their agreement through an established futures clearing house such as those connected to the NYMEX or the ICE Futures. In that event, USOF would no longer have credit risk of its original counterparty, as the clearinghouse would now be USOF’s counterparty. USOF would still retain any price risk associated with its transaction.
 
The creditworthiness of each potential counterparty is assessed by the General Partner. The General Partner assesses or reviews, as appropriate, the creditworthiness of each potential or existing counterparty to an over-the-counter contract pursuant to guidelines approved by the General Partner’s board of directors. Furthermore, the General Partner on behalf of USOF only enters into over-the-counter contracts with (a) members of the Federal Reserve System or foreign banks with branches regulated by the Federal Reserve Board; (b) primary dealers in U.S. government securities; (c) broker-dealers; (d) commodity futures merchants; or (e) affiliates of the foregoing. Existing counterparties are also reviewed periodically by the General Partner.

USOF anticipates that the use of Other Oil Interests together with its investments in Oil Futures Contracts will produce price and total return results that closely track the investment goals of USOF.

USOF may employ spreads or straddles in its trading to mitigate the differences in its investment portfolio and its goal of tracking the price of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract. USOF would use a spread when it chooses to take simultaneous long and short positions in futures written on the same underlying asset, but with different delivery months. The effect of holding such combined positions is to adjust the sensitivity of USOF to changes in the price relationship between futures contracts which will expire sooner and those that will expire later. USOF would use such a spread if the General Partner felt that taking such long and short positions, when combined with the rest of its holdings, would more closely track the investment goals of USOF, or if the General Partner felt it would lead to an overall lower cost of trading to achieve a given level of economic exposure to movements in oil prices. USOF would enter into a straddle when it chooses to take an option position consisting of a long (or short) position in both a call option and put option. The economic effect of holding certain combinations of put options and call options can be very similar to that of owning the underlying futures contracts. USOF would make use of such a straddle approach if, in the opinion of the General Partner, the resulting combination would more closely track the investment goals of USOF or if it would lead to an overall lower cost of trading to achieve a given level of economic exposure to movements in oil prices.

28


During the nine month period ended September 30, 2008, USOF did not employ any hedging methods such as those described above since all of its investments were made over an exchange. Therefore, USOF was not exposed to counterparty risk.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
 
Disclosure Controls and Procedures

USOF maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that material information required to be disclosed in USOF’s periodic reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
 
The duly appointed officers of the General Partner, including its chief executive officer and chief financial officer, who perform functions equivalent to those of a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of USOF if USOF had any officers, have evaluated the effectiveness of USOF’s disclosure controls and procedures and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of USOF have been effective as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report.

Change in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in USOF’s internal control over financial reporting during USOF’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, USOF’s internal control over financial reporting.

29


Part II. OTHER INFORMATION
 
Item 1. Legal Proceedings. 

Not applicable.

Item 1A. Risk Factors. 

There has not been a material change from the risk factors previously disclosed in USOF's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007. 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds. 

Not applicable. 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities. 

Not applicable. 

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders. 

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information.

Monthly Account Statements

Pursuant to the requirement under part 4.22 of the Commodity Exchange Act, each month USOF publishes an account statement for its unitholders, which includes a Statement of Income (Loss) and a Statement of Changes in NAV. The account statement is filed with the SEC on a current report on Form 8-K pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and posted each month on USOF’s website at www.unitedstatesoilfund.com.

Item 6. Exhibits.
 
Listed below are the exhibits which are filed or furnished as part of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q (according to the number assigned to them in Item 601 of Regulation S-K):

Exhibit
   
Number
 
Description of Document
10.1*
 
Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership.
31.1**
 
Certification by Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2**
 
Certification by Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1***
 
Certification by Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2***
 
Certification by Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

*Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 14, 2008
**Filed herewith
***Furnished herewith

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SIGNATURES
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

By: 
United States Commodity Funds LLC, its general partner
 
(formerly known as Victoria Bay Asset Management, LLC)
   
By:
/s/ Nicholas D. Gerber
Nicholas D. Gerber
Chief Executive Officer
   
Date:  November 10, 2008
   
By:
/s/ Howard Mah
Howard Mah
Chief Financial Officer
 
Date:  November 10, 2008

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