Traders hedge against a sharp rise in oil prices

In early December, the EU embargo on marine imports of oil from Russia comes into force. Also, an oil price ceiling will come into effect if it’s supplied to third countries. Thus, oil prices are getting more and more unstable. In order not to get into a difficult situation because of possible oil price hikes in winter and throughout the year, traders are hedging their risks.

Bloomberg reports that the most popular strike price on WTI call option, which also has the greatest open interest for the period of 12 months, was $120. The second most popular strike price is $100, but the open interest on it is half as much. The $130 strike price has about the same level of open interest, and the $150 strike price has a slightly lower level of open interest.

Over the past 2 months, the largest increase in the level of open interest was observed in call options on Brent oil in July, with a strike price of $150.