Traders Amass Record Number of Oil Options as Middle East Risks Rise

Oil traders have been buying a record number of options contracts in Brent Crude this month as risks of a war in the Middle East grow and market participants look to hedge against price spikes. Oil options are contracts that give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell oil at a set price if it moves beyond that price within a set timeframe. The number of open options contracts in Brent has soared by over 25% so far in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This week, the total number of these exceeded for the first…