With oil prices falling to a seven month low last week and demand for oil decreasing, investors are looking for some protection.

Options on the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) have tripled in price since May relative to contracts on an exchange-traded fund tracking the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index, according to six-month data compiled by Bloomberg. The gap widened to 3.3 points on Aug. 14, the widest since January.

The nine most-owned options on the XLE are bearish, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Puts betting on a drop to $95 a share by October have the biggest ownership, followed by contracts calling for such a decline by Sept. 20, according to the data.

?We?ve seen a pretty consistent trend of protective put buying in the XLE,? Jacobson, an options strategist at Susquehanna in New York, said in an interview. ?The group has been one of the better performers on the year, so there may be a general interest in protecting gains.?

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