1 min read

Buying an Actual Barrel of Oil

What does a container of oil actually look like in real life? Don't accidentally leave your positions open.

We've heard the joke in the industry many times, when someone has accidentally left a position open: "We were half-afraid a truck would show up and the driver would ask, 'Where do you want me to put this?'"

Apparently, a Bloomberg reporter actually tried to make this happen. This article is an interesting read on what a container of oil actually looks like in real life.

Plus, remember when the crude market went into severe contango during the financial crisis?

Over the past several years, we've seen other interesting market dynamics that have led to other odd trading scenarios like when oil went negative or the crazy price hikes during the Texas freeze in February 2021.

Unfortunately it sounds like Tracy was not successful in her endeavor to purchase and store oil, which her neighbors were probably happy about.

We'd encourage our readers, though, to continue buying barrels of oil in the digital sense. You can even tune into our panel discussion on risk management in oil trading here. The pixels on your computer of exchanges and ETRMs will keep you safer. Plus, you don't have to deal with the smell that the author does admit is a deterrent from physically storing an actual barrel of oil.

A barrel of cocoa or another commodity would be more fun to physically purchase. Let's be honest, when it comes to commodity trading, would you prefer oil or cocoa in your home?

Updated December 8, 2021

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