(Alliance News) - The conflict between the US and Iran and the risk of a widening Middle East crisis, with potential spikes in oil and gas prices following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, are capturing the attention of Piazza Affari traders. As reported by Milano Finanza on Thursday, many are shifting toward listed leveraged products – ETCs – to capitalize on commodity price swings.
According to Sandeep Rao, senior researcher at provider Leverage Shares, average volumes in Milan during the first week of March were 2.3 times higher than those in Frankfurt. While the majority still involves cryptocurrency-linked instruments, there is a "significant rotation toward traditional commodities."
ETCs on Brent and natural gas are seeing volume increases of several thousand percentage points compared to the first two months of the year. In Italy, the analyst notes, investors are reducing their concentration on crypto-proxies and pivoting toward WTI oil, Brent, and natural gas, which have emerged strongly after near-zero volumes at the start of the year.
Natural gas, in particular, with prices rising by over 50% in the last month, could become one of the fastest-growing products for retail participation in the coming weeks.
The signals were already visible before the conflict erupted: in February, a 3x leveraged natural gas ETC was among the ten most traded products on Piazza Affari, with a monthly turnover of EUR149 million.
According to Rao, the geopolitical shock is strengthening demand for defensive instruments while simultaneously fueling interest in energy commodities, creating the conditions for one of the most intense trading phases for leveraged ETPs in Europe in recent years.
By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2026 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.
