Business

Bullish oil bets surge most since 2016 after surprise OPEC+ cut


Speculators ramped up their bullish bets on higher oil prices after OPEC+ jolted markets with a surprise production cut, posting the second-largest increase in net-wagers on record last week.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Net-long positions in Brent crude jumped by more than 73,000 contracts in the week to April 4, according to data from ICE Futures Europe. The only other time a bigger net-inflow occurred was in late-2016, which also followed unexpected output curbs from OPEC that ultimately led to the creation of OPEC+.

“We expect bullish capital flows to continue for the time being as the production cuts will drive storage draws,” Macquarie Group analysts including Vikas Dwivedi wrote in a note.

Brent surged as much as 8 percent after OPEC+ announced the round of output curbs of almost 1.7 million barrels a day, but prices struggled for further direction after the initial move last week. Futures were trading near $85 a barrel on Tuesday.

The jump in net-wagers was driven by a mix of fresh bullish bets and a drop in bearish ones. Outright long positions climbed the most since 2019, while short bets fell the most since 2020, combining to make a large net-change.

The ICE figures followed similar data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which showed net-bullish bets in West Texas Intermediate jumped the most since 2020 last week. The number of speculative traders holding short bets for WTI and Brent also dropped the most since 2020.

Read more:

Saudi TV show offers glimpse into 2020 oil war with Russia

Oil giant TotalEnergies confirms deal with Iraq on $27 bln energy project

OPEC+ spurs curious oil move as prices soar but volatility dips

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

Exit mobile version