Somebody Just Bet $10,000 on WTI Oil at 50 Cents a Barrel

A pump jack stands at dusk in Texas.Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg
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Can West Texas Intermediate crude fall beneath 50 cents a barrel? Someone thinks so.

A trader bought 1,000 put options on the U.S. crude benchmark that would profit a buyer from WTI slumping toward almost zero value. The unlikely bet cost just $10,000.