Traders Place Bets On $250 Oil

Oil traders were making big bets amid geopolitical uncertainties, Bloomberg data shows, as 3 million barrels worth of options contracts snapped up by speculators.

While the move is largely seen as a Hail Mary, about 3,000 lots of June $250 call options in US crude oil traded for just 1 cent each on Tuesday-trades that Bloomberg likened to a lottery ticket due to the unlikely event that it would actually pay out. But certainly one that would pay out handsomely, if it paid out at all.

The trades, according to Bloomberg, were apparently paired with $25 put options.

Bullish oil options have risen to record levels, with the premiums for calls over puts hitting the highest levels since October as geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran continue to run hot.

The Brent crude oil benchmark is currently trading near $90 per barrel,  with WTI trading above $85. The last time Brent traded near $90 per barrel was last October.

Oil prices are trading down on the day on Tuesday, however, after the Federal Reserve Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson said that the U.S. central bank was prepared to keep its tight monetary policy should inflation not slow as much as anticipated. The economic development was not enough to send oil prices down significantly but was enough to offset what could have been a spike after the Biden Administration said it would slap Iran with additional sanctions for its attack on Israel, with geopolitical tensions continuing to add an element of supply fear into the oil markets.

The oil markets now await Israel’s response to Iran’s attack to decide how much risk premium for crude oil there will be.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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