Brent saw a continuation of bullish money manager positioning in the week to Jan 16, whilst WTI futures saw a change of heart, flipping to a more bearish stance after being seemingly bullish the week prior.
Combined positioning saw an increase in both long and short positions of 9mbbls (2%) and 12mbbls (6%), respectively. As a consequence of shorts increasing to a greater extent, total net positioning got shorter, falling 1% week on week to 295mbbls.
Despite a surprise build in US crude stock inventories announced on Jan 10, which placed initial pressure on both contracts, re-intensifying Red Sea tensions on Jan 12 and the start of a deep freeze across the US Gulf Coast helped to support prices in both contracts.
