Hedge funds and money managers cut bullish bets on U.S. crude for the third straight week, as the oil market remained volatile over concerns about rising output and the effectiveness of OPEC supply cuts.
The speculator group cut its combined futures and options position in New York and London by 31,037 contracts to 194,021 during the week to May 9, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
That represented the smallest long position in crude futures since November.
U.S. oil futures on the NYMEX fell nearly 4 percent and averaged about $46.37 per barrel during the five trading sessions ended May 9, even though at one point oil fell below $44 a barrel.
It came during a week when the price of oil dipped to its lowest levels since late November, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Russia and other non-OPEC members, agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017.
The countries plan to meet on May 25 and widely expected to maintain output limits for the rest of the year, but investors have been frustrated that the cuts have not led to an effective rebalancing in the market, which has pressured prices.
In the United States, energy companies added oil rigs for a 17th consecutive week, bringing the total count up to 703, the most since April 2015, data showed.
Separately, speculators extended short positions in gasoline, as overall stocks remain at seasonally high levels even as the United States heads into the busy driving season. Short positions increased to a net 20,964 contracts, up 17,666 contracts on the week.
(Reporting by David Gaffen- Editing by Andrew Hay)
0 comments
Share
