Vincent Wu
Research Associate, Flux
CFTC Weekly: Funds Sell Brent
Brent shorts surged, RBOB and heating oil shorts rose, gasoil length rebounded; nat gas sentiment stayed weak.
Published: June 22, 2026
Written by:
Vincent Wu
13 page report
Brent futures open interest increased by +2.59% in the week to 16 Jun, this is the first w/w increase in OI in four weeks..
- Short-positioned funds added +38.70% to their positions, bringing the outright fund short positions to their highest since the week to 16 Dec. In the week to 16 Jun, fund length dropped by around -2.6%, to 17.5mb, which is its lowest since 06 Jan. Fund length has dropped by over -21% since the week to 28 April. The managed by money long:short ratio w/w from the 30th percentile for all weeks since 2013, to the 14th.
- WTI futures saw OI stagnate, with an overall drop of around -0.9% w/w. Money managers in WTI have had a far less clear pattern in positioning than in Brent, with both long and short funds reducing their risk in the week to 16 Jun, by -2.4% and -7.2%, respectively. This allowed net positioning to reach 94.7mb, its highest in three weeks and around the 23rd percentile for all weeks since 2013.
- In ICE LS gasoil, OI increased after three weeks of dropping, although it increased by less than +1%. Money managers increased their buy-side risk after three weeks of decreasing, by around +5.8%. This is the largest percentage increase in fund length in gasoil since the week to 24 Feb. The net long-to-short ratio remained supported at 3.3:1.00, which lies in the 48th percentile for data going back to 2013.
- In heating oil futures, OI increased by over +2% w/w. Long money managers removed a net of around -0.5% of their positions, although short-positioned funds added a more significant +12.9% w/w. This is the largest increase in shorts in HO from funds in seven weeks.
- In RBOB futures, OI increased by almost +4% following a net drop in the three weeks prior. Managed by money long positions dropped by -2.7% in the week, which is the largest percentage weekly drop in four weeks. Short positions rose by over +32.9% (1.6mb) in the week, with fund shorts in RBOB now at their highest in six weeks. Net positioning remains very high, however, with the long:short ratio from funds at the 75th percentile from all weeks since 2013 (down from 89th last week).
- In Henry Hub futures, open interest dropped by -1.57% w/w. This is the largest percentage removal of interest w/w in eleven weeks. Managed by money players did not see a significant net change in their long positions, increasing by around +0.68% w/w. Short funds added +2.97% to their overall position, bringing the funds' long:short ratio to below the 8th percentile for all weeks since 2013.
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