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The Iran war news flow-driven oil moves are drawing retail investors into the world’s most traded commodity, further fueling volatility.
Small investors have poured record sums into oil-linked exchange-traded funds in recent weeks as prices have whipsawed amid the Middle East conflict and fears of extended disruptions to crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
The rush has prompted some analysts to draw parallels with past retail trading frenzies in stocks such as GameStop or commodities such as silver, signaling that crude oil market could be exposed to “meme-style” trades.
“Oil is now definitely a retail ‘meme theme’. Retail investors have been piling into the major pure-play oil ETFs ever since the start of the Iran conflict,” said Viraj Patel, global macro strategist at Vanda Research.
