Traders long oil options anticipating it could surge even further after oil prices reached the highest since 2008 with some traders betting futures will rise above $200 before the end of March.
The market anticipates supply cut-off from Russia which is one of the biggest exports in the world. According to ICE Futures Europe data, at least 200 contracts for the option to by May Brent futures at $200 a barrel traded on Monday. The options expire March 28, three days before the contract settles. The price to buy them jumped 152% to $2.39 a barrel.
JPMorgan Chase & Co said last week that Brent crude could end the year at $185 a barrel should Russian supplies continue to be disrupted, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. saw around 5 million barrels a day of pipeline and seaborne oil supplies being impacted by new sanctions.
