Column: Funds buy crude on expected delay to OPEC+ output increase - Kemp | Reuters

Column: Funds buy crude on expected delay to OPEC+ output increase - Kemp | Reuters

Hedge funds purchased crude futures and options at the fastest rate for six months as portfolio managers became increasingly confident OPEC+ will postpone scheduled output increases until demand is stronger.

The equivalent of 55 million barrels was purchased by hedge funds and other money managers in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts in the week to Oct. 22.

Buying was concentrated in NYMEX and ICE WTI (+36 million barrels) and Brent (+20 million), with only minor adjustments in U.S. diesel (+2 million) and European gasoil (-4 million) and no change in U.S. gasoline.

In crude, fund managers continued to buy back previous bearish short positions (+22 million barrels), as in previous weeks, but also started to establish new bullish long positions (+34 million).

The net position in crude has increased over the two most recent weeks to 464 million barrels, up from a low of 380 million on Oct. 6 (tmsnrt.rs/3msmkRD).