Traders Pile into $80 US Oil Bets as Tensions Rise in Middle East

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Traders on Friday exchanged the most $80 West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil call options since January, expecting more upside to prices after Israeli airstrikes on Iran sparked fears of a wider Middle East conflict.

Call options grant the holder a right to buy futures contract at the preset price and date, and a rise in volumes can help gauge market sentiment.

About 33,411 contracts of August-2025 $80 call options for WTI crude oil were traded on Friday on a total trading volume of 681,000 contracts, marking the highest volume for these options this year, according to CME Group data.

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The last time trading was this high for $80 call contracts was on January 10, with 17,030 February-2025 $80 call options traded on a total trading volume of 301,866 contracts.

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Oil prices jumped on Friday and settled 7% higher as Israel and Iran launched air strikes, feeding investor worries that the combat could widely disrupt oil exports from the Middle East.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $72.98 a barrel, up $4.94, or 7.62%. During the session, WTI jumped over 14% to its highest since January 21 at $77.62.

(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Georgina McCartney and Diane Craft)