In the week ending 04 Mar, combined open interest (OI) across both Brent and WTI futures decreased for the first time in a month, declining by 17.7mb (-0.4%) w/w. We have continued to see traders deleveraging across the crude benchmarks, amid ongoing bearish sentiment after announcement of the OPEC+ April output hike and demand concerns stemming from US tariffs. Money managers removed length for a third consecutive week in combined crude futures, removing 44.5mb (-9% w/w). However, we also saw money managers reduce their short positions by 12.5mb (-6%) this week, after adding shorts in the previous 5 weeks. As a result of these positioning changes, the long:short ratio decreased from 2.40:1.00 to 2.32:1.00 w/w, while overall net positioning stands at 254mb (-11% w/w), now at the most bearish level since November 2024.
