[dmarlow]

I think most people saw the opportunity, but just didn't know how to properly capitalize on it. At least that's where I was. I wasn't going to take delivery of any oil, that's for sure. At least nothing that stood to make anything significant from. Then, there was also the whole contango thing too.

[wodenokoto]

Just like we pass around code-stories/war stories, I remember reading a funny story about this stuck-up senior trader who ended up having to take delivery of a shipment of coal.

Probably an urban legend, but still funny.

This thread seems to support the idea that you can't just receive your futures at home. But I guess even with a designated warehouse, you're stuck with the warehouse bill.

https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/47421/have-any-...

[gadders]

There is also this story from Bloomberg about when one of their journalists tried to buy a single barrel: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/that-time...

"Could a barrel of crude really kill me?" I asked a petrochemical engineer captive to my persistent, doubtlessly annoying questions. It absolutely can, he said. Hydrogen sulfide gas—H2S, for short—has a terrible propensity to evaporate from crude, knock out your olfactory capabilities, and slowly suffocate you to death.

[throwaway0a5e]

>"Could a barrel of crude really kill me?" I asked a petrochemical engineer

That's like asking an electrician if 120v will kill you. Maybe if you use it wrong enough but odds are it's just going to be unpleasant.

[Anther]

Thank you for that link. It gave me a good chuckle. I work for a lab that analyses air samples. H2S is indeed interesting stuff.

[brazzy]

> I remember reading a funny story about this stuck-up senior trader who ended up having to take delivery of a shipment of coal.

Yeah, that was cited about a gajillion times back in May.

[justinzollars]

There was a risk you would have to take physical delivery.

[fnord77]

It seemed like every retail-trading angle was a losing proposition.

[tomc1985]

Idunno, my oil ETF shares are still up 40% from March so.....

OIL closing was bullshit, though

[arcticbull]

It’s hard to find an equity that’s not up 40% since March lol —- the S&P is up 43% so that’s technically, shockingly a market underperform, and a bunch of tech companies are up 200% or more.

[tomc1985]

Yeah, though my outlook on oil is longer-term than current market trends. Don't worry I loaded up on tech stocks too

[arcticbull]

I'm long oil too. There were a lot of great deals to be had back in March.

[arawde]

That's what you get with an ETF consisting of futures contracts...

[manigandham]

No retail trader is going to take delivery. The contracts would be forced closed or cash settled.

[totalZero]

The exchange cannot simply cut a break to a trader for being a retail speculator; that's not how these NYMEX futures work. A brokerage might be able to help a customer buyer by settling the delivery itself, but settlement other than physical would require consent from the matched seller. (There exist other oil futures that are cash settled.)

https://www.cmegroup.com/content/dam/cmegroup/rulebook/NYMEX...

200109. ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY PROCEDURES

A seller and buyer matched by the Exchange under Section 105.E. may agree to make and take delivery under terms or conditions which differ from the terms and conditions prescribed by this Chapter. In such a case, clearing members shall execute an Alternative Notice of Intention to Deliver on the form prescribed by the Exchange and shall deliver a completed and executed copy of such notice to the Exchange. The delivery of an executed Alternative Notice of Intention to Deliver to the Exchange shall release the clearing members and the Exchange from their respective obligations under the rules of this Chapter and any other rules regarding physical delivery.

In executing such notice, clearing members shall indemnify the Exchange against any liability, cost or expense the Exchange may incur for any reason as a result of the execution, delivery, or performance of such contracts or such agreement, or any breach thereof or default thereunder. Upon receipt of an executed Alternative Notice of Intention to Deliver, the Exchange will return to the clearing members all margin monies held for the account of each with respect to the contracts involved.

[manigandham]

It's not about the contract, it's about the trade and brokerage.

A retail broker will either not let you trade these contracts, force close the trade, make you retender, or cash-settle (or charge an equivalent bill to handle all the logistics in an extreme case). You are not going to have physical settlement unless you make prior arrangements with your broker and show that you can even accept them in the first place, but that's extremely unlikely at the retail level.