Oil Traders Load Up on Most Options Since April on Mideast Risks
- More than 300,000 lots of Brent call options traded Wednesday
- Odds of regional escalation rise as Israel and Iran face off
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Oil traders have loaded up on call options as a spike in tensions in the Middle East raises the possibility of a surge in prices.
More than 300,000 Brent call option contracts traded on Wednesday, the largest one-day amount since the last round of elevated regional tensions in April. The volume was dominated by large call spreads, which offer cheaper ways to profit from a rally, including $87 and $90 spreads for October, as well as $110 and $130 spreads for November. Brent was last near $81.