BGC's Woodard: RSX Option Volumes Fall Despite Oil Price Pressures

​Lower oil prices and international sanctions have put renewed pressure on the Russian economy, likely sending the country into its first recession since 2009. Priced in USD, the RTS Index is down nearly 35% this year and more than 25% from its early September levels. However, as the economy faces new trouble, options markets have not reacted with the same fervor that we saw when the crisis in Ukraine broke out in early March.