Platinum ETFs were some of the past week's best-performing funds, as improving economic data out of China and the U.S. continues to boost momentum in the white industrial metal.

The First Trust ISE Global Platinum ETF (NYSEArca: PLTM) and the ETFS Physical Platinum ETF (NYSEArca: PPLT) rallied 4.4 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, in the week ended Thursday, Feb. 7. The gains came as the Dow Jones industrial average tagged on 83 points for a rise of 0.6 percent.

Platinum, which is used in various industrial applications, is benefiting from growing demand linked to an improving global economy at a time when supplies have faced significant disruptions, ETF Securities managing director Will Rhind said in a recent interview.

And the run-up might be far from over for the funds invested in the white metal if Rhind's projection for more upside potential in platinum prices holds true.

It's worth noting that the Market Vectors Vietnam ETF (NYSEArca: VNM), which rallied 4.1 percent in the past week amid an average daily trading volume of nearly 1 million shares, currently holds the distinction of being the best-performing fund year-to-date, with gains of 25 percent since Jan. 1. In many ways, Vietnam's story is very much linked to China's growth.

VNM has also seen net inflows since the year started, having raked in almost $50 million in 2013 to help push its total assets to $412 million.

On the flip side, iShares' funds tapping into Italy and Spain were the worst-performing ETFs of the week, as renewed concerns over eurozone debt begin to take hold.

The iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund (NYSEArca: EWI) and the iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund (NYSEArca: EWP) bled 7.25 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

Top 10 Weekly Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and <1,000 Shares Traded

Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.