Buying an option on Crude Oil

[lonny]

Hope I've got the right forum for this...

I reckon crude oil will shoot up a lot higher than its current price in the next 6months to 1year time frame. I wouldn't mind buying a cheap oil call option dated to expire some time next summer with a strike around $100. Then, given peak US driving season + strong growth in China etc, hopefully cash in with oil well above $100.

I've been looking around IGindex and the like and and they don't seem to offer options. I really just want a simple option; pay the premium today and forget about it until it either pays off next summer or it doesn't. I don't want to be bothered with margin calls or anything like that involved if I buy a future.

So any suggestions? It's really annoying; i've worked on loads of IT systems to do this sort of stuff but never for the retail customer. I'd like to put in about £1000 if possible.

[plg101]

Try the Finance Forum.... more bods there who are clued up on this stuff.

[eyebeebe]

My guess is that you'd need put a hell of a lot more on the line than a grand. I enquired at my bank here in Switzerland about buying some calls on sterling and was told they would be delighted to help - minimum size CHF250,000 (about £150,000) - I was thinking about 1% of that size. Futures are also traded in much larger contracts than £1,000.

You might be able to spread bet on it though...

Edited by eyebeebe on Saturday 21st November 18:57

[lonny]

Yeah, I'm not looking to join LIFFE or anything like that! I'm surprised the spread betting companies don't offer this - gap in the market there?

I'll try finance forum as suggested above as well.

Cheers guys

[Somewhatfoolish]

With only a grand even a spread betted call ain't gonna work.

Sounds odd but your best plan might be to ask a full service bookie like ladbrokes; ask them to quote you on oil being above above $100 on one date or whatever... basically a binary...