Mita Chaturvedi
Research Associate, Flux
Brent net longs fall to lowest since March
Producers/merchants were risk-off in Brent futures, removing 102mb (-11%) and 141mb (-9.5%) from their longs and shorts respectively....
Published: June 8, 2026
Written by:
Mita Chaturvedi
13 page report
Open interest has dropped for a second consecutive week in Brent futures. Long money managers removed 17mb (-4.5%) from their Brent futures positions in the week ending 02 Jun, while their short-positioned counterparts have added 8.7mb (+8.1%) to their shorts, lowering the speculative long-to-short ratio to 3.1:1.00, which lies below the 36th percentile for all weeks since 2013..
- This brings the speculative net long position in ICE Brent futures to 246.9mb in the week ending 02 Jun - its lowest level since the beginning of the war in the week ending 03 Mar 2026.
- Meanwhile, players were more risk-on in WTI futures as net long money managed positioning increased by nearly 11mb in the week ending 02 Jun in WTI futures to over 90.7mb. However, the money managed long-to-short ratio remains fairly stagnant relative to Brent futures at 1.71:1.00, which lies around the 21st percentile for all weeks since 2013. This came amid a 18.2mb rise in longs (+9%) w/w, alongside a 7.4mb rise in shorts (+6.1%).
- Producers/merchants were risk-off in Brent futures, removing 102mb (-11%) and 141mb (-9.5%) from their longs and shorts respectively, highlighting de-risking among hedgers. In WTI futures, these hedgers were bearish w/w, with a muted trim of long WTI positions while their short-positioned counterparts added over 8mb (+2.5%) in the week ending 02 Jun, hinting at increased producer hedging in the US.
Refined product futures
- In the week ending 02 Jun, in ICE LS gasoil, long money managers trimmed 2.4mb (-2.7%) from their positions, while their short-positioned counterparts removed just 0.4mb (-1.2%) from their positions. This took net long money managed positions to 52.4mb, its lowest since the week ending 14 Apr.
- In NY Harbor ULSD (heating oil) futures, long money managers added 4.9mb (+19.3%) in the week ending 02 Jun, while their short-positioned counterparts added 0.6mb (+3.2%) to their positions w/w - taking the long-to-short ratio to 1.7:1.00, just above the 43rd percentile for all weeks since 2013.
- Meanwhile, in RBOB gasoline futures, speculators added 1mb to their longs (+1.5%) and 0.38mb (+8.3%) to their shorts. This took their net long positioning to 67.8mb, its highest level since the week ending 24 Mar.
- Finally, in Henry Hub futures, long money managers added 8.9k lots (+4.9%) in the week ending 02 Jun, while their short-positioned counterparts removed 10.7k lots to their shorts w/w. Although this raised the money managed long-to-short ratio, this stands at a muted 0.6:1.00.
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