Oil floats on optimism of $100 by next year

london — When crude prices crashed in early 2016 to $27 per barrel, most industry executives said the world had seen the last of oil at $100.

Almost two years later, as a global crude glut shows signs of receding, the oil options market has seen a spike in activity at $100 a barrel, indicating some oil bulls are betting the price could trade around that level by this time next year.

The oil price has hit its highest since 2015 and after having shied away from $60 a barrel this week, the chances of a rally beyond this point seem remote. But that hasn’t stopped some punters from snapping up December 2018 buy options at $100 at bargainbasement prices.

Open interest in December 2018 $100 call options, which expire next October, has trebled in the space of a week to more than 30,000 lots, on a par with the most active contract among December 2017 options — $60 calls. —