據今日油價7月22日報道，在經歷了一段時間的相對穩定后，美國原油基準WTI在每桶70美元上方交易了一個多月，交易員們現在正準備迎接油價在夏季剩余時間的狂飆。

　　《華爾街日報》收集的數據顯示，原油期權市場的交易員預計，未來幾周油價波動性將大幅上升，他們正在加大對沖力度，以防油價進一步下跌。越來越謹慎的態度表明，市場參與者正在權衡未來幾個月歐佩克+增加石油供應的前景，以及在許多國家新冠肺炎病例激增之際，對全球石油需求復蘇可能停滯的擔憂。

　　市場參與者已經意識到，今年夏天石油需求的反彈不會將油價推高至每桶100美元，各處新冠肺炎病例的爆發將不可避免地打擊市場人氣。

　　大宗商品對沖基金Massar Capital Management的首席投資官Marwan Younes對《華爾街日報》表示："市場將比人們預期的動蕩得多。"

　　本周一開始，石油市場確實動蕩不安。

　　歐佩克+最終在周日宣布了一項如何緩解減產的協議。但市場周一聚焦于對需求復蘇的擔憂，因Delta病毒感染激增，股市普遍拋售，且交易方式普遍在規避風險，避險情緒打擊了油價，提振了美元。周一，美元走強進一步打壓了油價。

　　因此，WTI原油價格下跌了7%，這是今年以來的最大單日跌幅，也是自2020年9月以來的最大單日跌幅。市場開始擔心，不斷上升的Delta病毒感染對經濟和石油需求復蘇意味著什么。如果一些國家，特別是接種率普遍較低的亞洲國家，再次對人口流動施加限制，這將減少燃料需求。

　　因此，石油市場波動性再度飆升，根據華爾街日報援引QuikStrike的數據顯示，以期權合約價格為基礎的下個月隱含波動率指標周一跳升至41.2%。

　　當然，很少有市場參與者預計，2020年4月的波動會重演，當時美國油價一天內暴跌至負值。為了解決這個問題，歐佩克+通過達成一項協議來解決這一問題，盡管它花了兩周時間向市場保證不會很快出現新的價格戰。

　　不過，華爾街日報引述QuikStrike數據顯示，交易商正更多地通過所謂的風險逆轉策略對沖油價下滑，以保護看漲期權。

　　市場和大多數分析人士普遍認為，歐佩克+協議對油價具有建設性意義，因為它消除了重新爆發價格戰的可能性，即使這是一個漫長的協議。但市場參與者繼續關注夏季淡季的利空消息，由于流動性降低，市場波動性加大。

　　歐佩克+協議為市場提供了更多的確定性，因此在理論上應該會減少波動性。不過，本周宏觀和需求方面的擔憂明顯蓋過了供應方面的進站。

　　許多國家，包括美國和英國等疫苗接種率高的國家的Delta病毒感染病例激增，以及周一在全球市場上引發的恐慌，突顯出交易員目前在石油上押注所面臨的挑戰。

　　許多分析師認為，油價將回升至每桶70美元上方，高盛(Goldman Sachs)甚至預計油價將升至每桶80美元，而石油期權交易員已做好準備，迎接未來更大的需求波動和劇烈的價格波動。

　　王佳晶 摘譯自 今日油價

　　原文如下：

　　Traders Brace For Major Oil Market Volatility This Summer

　　After a period of relative stability in the oil market where U.S. crude benchmark WTI was trading above $70 a barrel for more than a month, traders are now bracing for a wild ride for the rest of the summer.

　　Traders in the crude oil options market expect volatility to spike in the coming weeks and are hedging more against further price declines, data compiled by The Wall Street Journal showed. The increased caution suggests that market participants are weighing the prospect of rising oil supply from OPEC+ in the coming months against concerns about potential stalling of the global oil demand recovery amid the spike in COVID cases in many countries.

　　Market participants have come to realize that the rebound in oil demand this summer will not shoot oil prices up to $100 a barrel and that flare-ups in virus cases here and there would inevitably hit market sentiment.

　　“It’s going to be a lot more turbulent than people expected,” Marwan Younes, chief investment officer at commodity-focused hedge fund Massar Capital Management, told the Journal.

　　It was indeed turbulent at the start of this week in the oil market.

　　OPEC+ finally announced on Sunday a deal on how it would ease the production cuts. But the market focused on Monday on fears of demand recovery amid surging Delta variant infections in a broader sell-off in equity markets and a generally risk-averse trading approach. Risk aversion hit oil and lifted the U.S. dollar. The stronger dollar additionally weighed on oil prices on Monday.

　　As a result, WTI Crude prices plunged by 7 percent, the biggest one-day loss so far this year and the largest such loss since September 2020. The market started to fret about what the rising Delta variant infections would mean for economies and the oil demand recovery. If countries, especially those in Asia where vaccination rates are generally lower, were to impose restrictions on mobility again, this would reduce fuel demand.

　　So, volatility in the oil market spiked again, and a measure of implied volatility over the next month based on option contract prices jumped to 41.2 percent on Monday, according to data from QuikStrike cited by the Journal.

　　Sure, few market participants expect a repeat of the April 2020 volatility, when U.S. oil prices turned negative for a day. OPEC+ took care of that by sealing a deal—even if it took it two weeks—to reassure the market that there would not be a new price war coming soon.

　　Nevertheless, traders are hedging more against oil price slides via the so-called risk reversal strategy to protect their bullish call options with bearish put options, the QuikStrike data cited by the WSJ showed.

　　The market and most analysts generally believe that the OPEC+ agreement is constructive for oil prices as it removes the possibility—even if it was a remote one—of a renewed price war. But participants continue to be tuned to bearish news in the summer lull period, which, with lower liquidity, leads to higher volatility in markets.

　　The OPEC+ agreement “has provided more certainty for the market, and so in theory should reduce volatility. However, clearly this week, macro and demand concerns have overshadowed supply developments,” ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said early on Wednesday.

　　The Delta variant surge in many countries—including in those with high vaccination rates such as the United States and the UK—and the jitters it caused on all global markets on Monday highlights the challenges traders face in betting on oil now.

　　Many analysts believe oil prices are set to return to above $70, with Goldman Sachs even expecting $80 oil, but oil option traders are getting ready for more volatility and wild price swings ahead.

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