Crude Oil Hedge Funds
Hedge Funds Cut Bullish Bets on Crude Oil as Prices Fall
Hedge funds sold crude oil at the fastest pace in eight months cutting bullish bets by 32%. The move appears to be a result of concerns over Europe's debt crisis and how it will effect energy demand.
The speculative net-long position in crude oil futures and options combined on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to 89,335 in the week ended May 18, the biggest percentage decline since Sept. 29, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders Report on May 21.
Crude dropped 20 percent from a 19-month high of $87.15 a barrel May 3 on concern Europe will undermine a recovery from the worst recession since World War II. Supplies of oil and all petroleum-based fuels jumped to 1.81 billion barrels in the week ended May 14, the highest stockpiles on a seasonal basis based on Energy Department data back to 1990.
“Wall Street was bailing out of the market,” said Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania. “The latest sell-off is confirmation that money managers are exiting. I expect next week’s report will show another significant sell-off.”
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