Persistent market uncertainty is pushing more trade toward the crude oil futures and options markets as players try to navigate opposing forces of geopolitics and supply and demand fundamentals. Trading volumes and open interest — a tally of contracts held by all players — are in record territory, a sign traders are using financial oil instruments as a shield against increased uncertainty. Both producers and consumers are seeking insulation from price volatility, while speculators sense an opportunity to wade back into the oil trade after a period on the sidelines. Oil prices have been volatile this year, with Brent swinging between around $60 and $85 per barrel in the first half. Brent averaged roughly $70/bbl in the first six months of 2025, a seemingly comfortable level for markets at the moment. The potential for another Mideast flare-up has kept a floor on prices, while trade uncertainty and fears of a supply surplus later this year have kept prices from rising too high. Data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and ICE Futures shows that the total volume of all crude oil contracts held by traders has averaged more than 7 million lots since early April, when the US announced plans for steep tariffs across the board; the contract count averaged 6 million last year. Price volatility is also driving more trading, especially in Brent, according to Albert Helmig of consultancy Grey House. Brent traded a record 4.8 million contracts — nearly four times the daily average — on Jun. 13, the start of Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran. “Volatility encourages trading,” especially among technical chart traders, momentum traders and high-speed traders, who make up as much as 50% of trading volumes, Helmig says.
