Some traders anticipating a rebound in oil are making an indirect bet: wagering on energy companies and the currencies of oil-producing nations instead of the commodity itself. Their approach is spurred in part by contango, an occasional event in which the current price of oil is lower than prices for future delivery. The phenomenon, which prevailed this year, makes it more expensive to bet on oil futures, as it forces investors pay up when they trade out of old contracts and into newer ones. To avoid pricey futures, traders have turned to other wagers as a proxy for oil. Some of the trades are looking smart compared with a pure oil bet: The krone, the currency of major oil producer Norway, has fallen just 2.8% since the start of November, a period in which Brent futures dropped 27% to an 11-year low. The dollar bonds of Brazilian oil giant […]