Given the recent negative pricing for WTI oil, things seemed as strange as they’d ever been for this giant of the commodities market. However, recent data has shown the futures markets for both Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December delivery have the highest open interest, or total number of options and outstanding contracts.

This is bizarre for futures to settle on oil scheduled for delivery so far in the future. Usually the most open interest contracts concern oil for delivery in the coming month, if not the month after that.

The situation suggests traders’ aversion toward near-term contracts as long...