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Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: Hedge funds have raised their bullish bets on U.S. crude for the fourth straight week, albeit slowly, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In the week to Sept. 22, long positions in futures and options in the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) held by hedge funds and money managers jumped by 232 contracts (6.1%) to 258,591. Short positions fell by 14,569 contracts to 110,913, as more took profit from WTI prices that firmed at around $45 a barrel after sinking to a six and a half year bottom below $38 a month ago, reports Reuters. The jump in longs and a decline in shorts boosted net-long positions by 15%.
Jim Ritterbushch of Chicago-based energy markets consultancy firm Ritterbush & Associates told Reuters, "The rise is more because of people closing out short positions, or taking profit in WTI, rather than buying into new longs despite the so-called improved fundamentals for oil."
U.S. crude output is down 470,000 barrels a day from a four-decade high of 9.61 million in June, data from the Energy Information Administration show. Output is expected to decline through the middle of next year because of low prices, according to Bloomberg News.
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