Money Managers’ Positions in Crude
For the week to June 04, money managers significantly reduced their long positions and increased their short positions across the Brent and WTI futures benchmarks as traders reacted bearishly to the possibility of OPEC+ adding barrels back to the market.
Managed money long positions decreased by 66.1mbbls (-13.7%). Notably, their short positions increased by 88.6mbbls (+61%), bringing total outright short positions to 233.9mbbls, the highest level since December 2023.
The most significant story was the net positioning in Brent futures falling to 10-year lows, or the 1st percentile for all weeks since 2013.
Flat price in Brent and WTI fell by around $4 to $77/bbl and $73/bbl levels respectively on June 4, which marks the lowest level since January 2024, and wiping out previous gains made on the back of the geopolitical risk premium.
