Traders Take Long-Shot Bets on Chance of U.S. Oil Export Ban
- Limiting exports seen as one tool for U.S. to lower oil prices
- Options emerge that pay if WTI-Brent spread hits $10 a barrel
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Oil traders are scooping up options contracts that would pay out if U.S. crude futures plummet against international benchmark Brent, a signal that some believe the Biden administration could intervene in the market again to bring down oil prices.
Some traders have bet on the small chance that West Texas Intermediate’s discount to Brent surges past $10 a barrel next year. The last time the spread traded near $10 was in 2018 and 2019 when severe pipeline constraints trapped barrels in the Permian Basin - the largest oilfield in the country. The spread was trading around $3.60 a barrel Tuesday.