Vincent Wu
Research Associate, Flux
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CFTC Weekly: WTI-Brent disparity
Money managers add length in Brent crude futures as Hormuz shipping attacks intensify; CTA crude length overbought
Published: October 19, 2026
Written by:
Vincent Wu
13 page report
Money managers add length in Brent crude futures as Hormuz shipping attacks intensify; CTA crude length overbought.
Money managers added length in Brent futures in the week ending 13 Oct, reversing three consecutive weeks of decline. Increasing shipping attacks in the Strait of Hormuz has raised the geopolitical risk premium. Net positioning is over 200mb, but below March highs of 382mb.
In contrast, speculators continue to trim length in WTI futures, with net positioning falling for five consecutive weeks, reaching a 9-month low. The upcoming SPR release has weighed on sentiment, widening the WTI/Brent spread.
CTAs accelerated their crude purchases over the past week, with net length in Brent futures remaining the most bullish out of the main oil benchmarks. Brent and WTI are both overbought from an index perspective. CTA selling continues in US gasoline (RBOB) futures, and from an index perspective, is expected to fall from +15.4 to +8.3 w/w
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