It was a bearish week in the global crude benchmarks as money managers reduced long positions and added short positions when their positions in WTI and Brent were combined for the week to 30 July. Combined positioning moved in the same direction as the previous week, with a more substantial 18% drop in long positions. This positioning was not ubiquitous, as the managed by money positions in WTI saw a more risk-off net movement in the week as both long and short funds closed positions by 12% and 19%, respectively. However, both crude benchmarks saw a decrease in total OI in the week.
The week to 30 July saw global crude oil flat prices come off, with Oct’24 Brent falling past the $80/bbl level. The general macroeconomic picture is fairly grim, and the market has not reacted bullishly to the increased stimulus from China, as the one-year MLF rate was cut by 20bps to 2.30%. The two moves in a week showed genuine concern from the PBoC. In Europe, the PMIs fell unexpectedly, with France reaching a 6-month low. The bubbling geopolitical tensions in the Middle East seem to have little impact on the market in the week to 30 July.
