The chart essentially speaks for itself: Earlier this year, when Brent Crude oil was busy ripping to the upside, it had the edge over the broader Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE). As the dollar got crushed by Bernanke heading into the late summer and fall, diversifcation became essential; the XLE performed better and as we've seen this week, oil continues to get crushed. 

XLE: Bigger Than Brent - image001