Tumbling Oil Launches Record Options Trading As “800 Million Barrels” Change Hands

With oil’s recent somnolent, low-vol levitation at their back, the number of hedge funds and other speculators who were soothed by the gradual move higher and betting on the success of OPEC reflationary strategy, had recently grown to an all time high, as seen in the chart below showing the number of long net-spec positions in the combined oil futures market.

So when the price of oil unexpectedly tumbled on Wednesday, then continued to slide over the next two days, many were wondering if this sharp reversal in prices would unleash a margin-call driven liquidation scramble.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Mar 10, 2017.