North Sea Oil Swaps Hit Record Volume as Prices Spiked

A record volume of swaps that traders use to hedge benchmark physical oil prices changed hands on Friday as prices jumped, prompting market participants to suggest that one or more traders had been forced to close out big loss-making positions.

More than 108,000 so-called Dated to Frontline swaps traded on the ICE Futures Europe exchange on Friday, data from the bourse show. That’s the highest since at least 2015, far exceeding 68,000 contracts that were transacted in June last year.