Options Observer: WTI Weekly Options Are Trending
With Weekly options on WTI Crude Oil futures expiring on Friday each week, CME Group provides market participants with a flexible tool to fine-tune their crude oil market exposure.
- Since the beginning of July 2021, Crude Weekly options ADV has been over 5,000/day – more than double the YTD ADV and highest since March 2020.
- Average daily OI of Crude Weeklies since beginning of July 2021 has been 11,040 – 50% higher than YTD average OI.
- Average number of daily users trading Crude Weeklies has increased 67% over the past four weeks.
- Since going live on June 28, 103 different quarter strikes have traded across all listed weeklies.
Traders are finding the benefits of adding Crude Weekly options to their portfolios with:
- Flexibility to manage short-term volatility and risk
- Precision timing to target specific market movements or events, like OPEC meetings
- More expirations (four weeklies and one monthly); more options to limit exposure
- Shorter expirations to gain market exposure at a lower premium
Volume and OI are back to pre-pandemic levels:
Source: CME Group
Record numbers of traders are using weeklies each year:
Source: CME Group
Screen markets are liquid, including on the new 0.25 strike increments:
Source: CME Group
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Learn all about Weekly Energy options
Traders turn to the precision of CME Group’s weekly expiring options to enhance existing positions or to offset risk and capture trading opportunities around market-moving events. Regional crude oil and natural gas storage data, weather anomalies, and global market events (like the upcoming OPEC meeting) can have a dramatic impact on the energy markets.