It May Take More Than a Tanker Attack to Quell Oil Short-Selling - Bloomberg

It May Take More Than a Tanker Attack to Quell Oil Short-Selling - Bloomberg:

Oil short-selling has more than doubled in three weeks, with attacks on oil facilities and tankers unable to push prices higher for very long.

Hedge fund bets on a West Texas Intermediate crude rout jumped 47% in the week ended Oct. 8, following surges of more than 30% in the previous two, data released Friday show.

Futures in New York erased early gains on Friday following missile strikes on an Iranian tanker in the Red Sea, before climbing once again ahead of a partial trade deal between the U.S. and China. Oil closed 2.2% higher at $54.70 a barrel. Crude has retraced all the gains made since the attack on Saudi Arabia’s giant Abqaiq oil-processing complex in mid-September.