President Trump halted Wall Street's April momentum in its tracks last night, triggering resurgent oil prices in the process. At last check, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 13%, while global benchmark Brent crude was up 8%.
Oil exchange-traded fund (ETF) United States Oil Fund (USO) is soaring in response, up 12.7% to trade at $139.18, tapping a 10-year high of $140 out of the gate. Options traders may be bullish today, but recent trends indicate a preference toward puts.
USO is now up 101% in 2026, with support in place at its ascending 20-day moving average. The ETF has come a long way since April 9 lows at $60.67, today eyeing its largest daily pop in nearly four weeks.
In just the first half hour of trading, over 83,000 calls have changed hands today, volume that's double the average intraday amount. The weekly 4/2 133-strike put is the most popular contract this though, while the April 150 call is also seeing attention.
There's been a shift toward puts in the options pits. Specifically, USO's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.13 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than 94% of readings in its annual range. Echoing this, the ETF's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.41 sits in the 97th percentile of its 12-month range. This means short-term traders have rarely been more put-biased as well.
