Betting on rising oil prices amid heightened Middle East tensions, highest in 2 1/2 years

As tensions rise in the Middle East, the percentage of people betting on higher oil prices has risen to its highest level in two and a half years.

According to Bloomberg, the ratio of rising bets (call options) to falling bets (put options) on two-month futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit its highest since March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Crude oil futures posted their biggest gains in more than a year last week, with more investors predicting higher oil prices in the options market.

Most hedge funds and commodities market officials predicted that international oil prices would fall as recently as mid-September.

Many predicted that demand would shrink as growth slowed in several countries, led by China.

On top of that, OPEC+ members, made up of OPEC countries and non-OPEC oil producers, are also preparing to increase supply, sending crude futures prices down to $70 a barrel.

However, as the situation in the Middle East intensified, the market situation quickly turned around.

Last week, traders also bought a lot of call options that Brent could go above $100 in December.

For the past three days, the overall bullish betting volume is at an all-time high.