oil volatility or the implied volatility of USO is nearing an extreme.the futures are still in a decent contango. so what does that mean? the cost of options both on the upside and downside is dirt cheap, but the cost of carry spread is nearing a reversion. in contango CL futures outperform vs USO or a future equivalent etp due to cost to carry/decay. however when in backwardation (expansion in volatility) USO outperforms CL futures to the downside. how to play. USO leap puts, calendars, put spreads or back ratios. vs CL call debits.