Premium exceeds 40%, multiple oil and gas funds are urgently suspended from trading

Reporter丨Pang Huaiwei Trainee reporter Lin Qianwei

Editor丨Zhang Xing Zeng Jingjiao

In the afternoon of March 26, Southern Fund announced that, as of the midday close of trading on March 26, 2026 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the secondary-market trading price of Class A shares of Southern Fund’s Southern Crude Oil Securities Investment Fund was significantly higher than the fund’s net asset value per share, resulting in a substantial premium. Investors are hereby reminded to pay attention to the risk of premium in secondary-market trading. If investors blindly invest in fund shares with a high premium rate, they may suffer major losses. To protect investors’ interests, this fund will be suspended from the opening of trading on the afternoon of March 26, 2026 until the close of trading on the same day.

Earlier, the JY Southern? (Note: keep names as translated above) Real? (the input uses “嘉实” which is “Harvest” in English; but we must translate naturally—however keep consistent.) The Harvest Crude Oil Securities Investment Fund and the E Fund Crude Oil Securities Investment Fund both announced that they would implement a temporary trading halt from the opening of trading on the 26th until the close of the day.

As of 14:35 on the 26th, New York crude oil futures were at $92.39 per barrel, up 2.26% on the day. Brent crude oil was at $99.15 per barrel, up nearly 2% on the day.

Premium soars

According to data from Eastmoney (Tonghuashun), as of the midday close on the 26th, the E Fund Crude Oil LOF rose 3.60%, with a premium rate of 46.08%; the Harvest Crude Oil LOF rose 2.49%, with a premium rate of 42.64%; and the Southern Crude Oil LOF rose 5.21%, with a premium rate of 41.06%.

Judging by monthly performance, the gains of oil and gas funds have been astonishing. As of March 25, the Harvest Crude Oil LOF had gained 77.37% for the month; the E Fund Crude Oil LOF and the Southern Crude Oil LOF had gained 66.28% and 59.97%, respectively. The Franklin? (富国标普油气ETF -> “Franklin S&P Oil & Gas ETF”) Franklin S&P Oil & Gas ETF also reached a gain of 42.58%.

Taking the Southern Crude Oil LOF as an example, as of March 20, the fund had risen 47.25% over the past two weeks and accumulated a gain of 110.22% since the beginning of the year. In recent days, there have been signs of easing in the Middle East situation. Market sentiment has clearly shifted. International oil prices have fallen sharply. The fund hit the daily trading limit down on March 25. On the same day, the E Fund Crude Oil LOF and the Harvest Crude Oil LOF also hit daily trading limits down.

Against continuously elevated premiums, fund companies have issued risk alerts in quick succession. On the evening of March 25, the E Fund Crude Oil LOF, Hu’an? (华安标普全球石油LOF -> Hu’an Global S&P Global Petroleum LOF) Hu’an S&P Global Petroleum LOF, Harvest Crude Oil LOF, and Harvest S&P Oil & Gas ETF all published premium risk warning announcements. Among them, E Fund had already issued 18 premium risk and suspension reminders within the month, almost every trading day, telling investors: buying with a high premium may face major losses.

When the surge-following sentiment of capital intertwines with expectations of geopolitical conflict, how long can this “premium carnival” last? The advice given by multiple institutions is strikingly consistent: deal rationally, and be cautious about chasing gains.

Geopolitical conflict is the main driving force

Behind the high premiums of oil and gas funds in this round, the core driver is the continued escalation of the situation in the Middle East. Before this round of conflict erupted, Brent crude was only $73.21 per barrel on February 27. On March 9, it surged to $119.50 per barrel at one point during intraday trading—an increase of 63%. In recent days, oil prices have come off somewhat. On March 24, they closed at $95.96 per barrel. As of the time this reporter’s story was published on March 25, they were maintained around $94 per barrel.

Cathay? (国泰基金 -> Guotai Fund) Guotai Fund’s analysis believes that the recent performance of oil and gas funds is mainly driven by the Middle East situation.

“Although international oil prices have pulled back somewhat from prior highs in recent days, they still show volatility at elevated levels.” Guotai Fund said that current oil prices are mainly traded around the conflict between the US and Iran. On the one hand, the conflict in the Middle East has shifted toward energy infrastructure, heightening market concerns about crude oil supply. On the other hand, the US manages market expectations—such as by temporarily lifting crude oil sanctions against Russia and Iran and releasing signals related to US-Iran negotiations—thereby exerting some downward pressure on oil prices.

Ping? (排排网财富公募产品运营曾方芳 -> PaiPaiWang Wealth’s public offering product operations, Zeng Fangfang) Zeng Fangfang from PaiPaiWang Wealth’s public offering product operations said that on March 25, due to Brent crude prices still being below $100 per barrel, oil and gas ETFs showed a downward trend. Even though some related exchange-traded products continued to be suspended, the premium rates of the varieties that were heavily speculated earlier still remain high.

“Escalation of the Middle East conflict has raised expectations of a disruption in crude oil supply, driving a rapid rise in oil prices.” Zeng Fangfang said that such strong upside expectations attracted large amounts of short-term capital into oil and gas theme funds. In particular, some oil and gas QDII funds have had their foreign exchange quota used up, and the off-exchange subscription channels have been strictly shut or subject to purchase limits. Funds that were bullish on oil prices instead flowed into exchange-traded products, leading to strong momentum-chasing sentiment and, in turn, pushing up the premium.

Guan? (格上基金研究员关晓敏 -> “GeShang Fund” researcher Guan Xiaomin) Guan Xiaomin, a researcher at GeShang Fund, analyzed that behind the high premiums of oil and gas funds, on the one hand, international oil prices have been wildly volatile. To ensure smooth fund operations and protect the interests of unitholders, the crude oil LOF fund pauses subscriptions. On the other hand, with the escalation of the Middle East conflict, the market expects oil prices to rise. Investors have been accumulating shares through exchange trading, and an imbalance in supply and demand further pushes up the premium. Due to shocks from geopolitical events and limits on QDII quotas, the premium of crude oil LOF may remain at a high level of sideways trading in the short term. Later, as geopolitical risks ease, the premium is expected to gradually converge.

Hidden concerns behind high premiums

For the outlook, Guotai Fund believes the state of crude oil’s high-level volatility is expected to continue. “At present, geopolitical uncertainty is strong. Oil and gas funds are prone to experience large fluctuations influenced by international developments. Investors should stay rational, be cautious about chasing gains, and do a good job of risk control.”

Zeng Fangfang said that although international oil prices may remain at elevated levels of volatility in the short term due to geopolitical conflicts, for oil and gas funds themselves—especially those exchange-traded varieties with high premiums—the risks have accumulated rapidly. High premiums are not sustainable. Once geopolitical conflicts ease and supply and demand improve, the premium will quickly converge back toward the net asset value.

The essence of high premium is a severe divergence between price and value. Put simply, premium is the difference between what investors pay in the secondary market to buy and the fund’s actual net asset value—investors pay far more. For example, on March 24, the E Fund Crude Oil LOF’s premium rate at one point was as high as 57.73%; the Harvest Crude Oil LOF was 55.90%; and the Southern Crude Oil LOF was 49.32%. This means that investors bought fund shares with an actual value of 100 yuan for over 150 yuan; more than 50 yuan is “bubble.”

An industry insider pointed out that trading prices in the secondary market often deviate from the fund’s net asset value due to supply and demand relationships. When buy orders are stronger than sell orders, the price may rise above the real-time reference net value, forming a premium. But in the long run, prices will always return to value; short-term imbalances of supply not meeting demand cannot last. The current crude oil market is mainly driven by capital. Once the strength of buy orders weakens or supply pressures ease, the premium will narrow accordingly, or even disappear. Investors who entered at high levels may face significant losses.

Guan Xiaomin reminded that currently, crude oil LOF funds feature characteristics of high premium and high volatility. The combination of premium risk and market risk may lead to substantial losses. She suggests that investors avoid chasing gains and wait for premiums to converge before considering an entry.

Zeng Fangfang suggested that investors who have already bought at high premium levels may reduce holdings or exit when appropriate to reduce the risk of premium decline. For investors who are watching from the sidelines but still want to allocate to oil and gas, they can pay attention to the off-exchange linked fund subscription channels, or reassess the timing to enter after the premium rate falls. Commodities are highly volatile. Consider phased allocation and setting a take-profit line, rather than loading up all at once.

Bos? (博时基金经理王祥 -> Boshi Fund manager Wang Xiang) Wang Xiang, manager at Boshi Fund, also said that the direction of macro geopolitical events is difficult to predict, and reversals are also common. With high volatility in the oil and gas sector, there may be rapid switches between high-level pullbacks and repricing. “We suggest investors still treat it from an allocation perspective and avoid excessive trading based on short-term sentiment.”

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责任编辑：宋雅芳