Vincent Wu
Research Associate, Flux
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Summer of RBOB
Funds trim Brent futures length; speculators accelerate RBOB futures purchases; diverging CTA crude and gasoline positioning
Published: August 31, 2026
Written by:
Vincent Wu
13 page report
The week ending 25 Aug was a risk-off week for money managers in Brent futures...
- Long positions in Brent fell at their fastest pace in 2 months, falling by 22.7mb (-6%). As such, net positioning retreating from 3-month highs. The long:short ratio is at the 31st percentile for all weeks since 2013. Brent has been trading around the $90/bbl level as the Iran war shifts from kinetic conflict to economic warfare, with the US Treasury initiating wider sanctions against Iran, but stopping short of sweeping action, namely against China.
- In the refined products, speculators accelerated their purchases in RBOB gasoline futures, with long positions rising by 7% w/w. Outright long positions are at their highest level since February.
- In Natural Gas (Henry Hub), funds continued to add length, with long positions rising in five over the past six weeks. Longs are at their highest level in four years.
- Looking at Flux Insight's CTA positioning for the week ending 31 Aug, there is a divergence in positioning between crude and gasoline, with net length decreasing slightly in the former, and rising in the latter. From an index perspective, RBOB futures positioning has returned to the overbought territory, and is the highest out of the selected oil futures benchmarks.
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