Oil shorts by hedge funds soar to highest level this year

Ahead of OPEC meeting next week

Laura Dew
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The size of hedge funds' shorting positions against the oil price has reached a peak for this year, ahead of next week's OPEC meeting.

According to the Financial Times, the short futures and options position in Brent crude oil is equal to 141m barrels, while bets against WTI oil have risen to almost 200m barrels, both the highest since October 2014.  Speculative funds are now holding short positions equal to more than three and a half days' worth of global oil demand in New York and London, the paper reports. These positions would make money in the eventuality the oil price drops further from its current levels. Hedge funds are expecting that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which meets in...

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