Hedge funds polarized on oil… Kemp

Here is John Kemp, Reuters, on hedge fund positions in oil:

”Hedge funds and other money managers sold futures and options equivalent to 25 million barrels in the six most important contracts linked to petroleum prices in the week to Aug. 6.

But the fund sales essentially reversed purchases of 20 million barrels the previous week and there has been little change in the net position since the middle of June (tmsnrt.rs/2MVVbI9).

The most recent week saw portfolio managers sell Brent (-13 million barrels), U.S. gasoline (-8 million), U.S. heating oil (-1 million) and European gasoil (-13 million) while buying NYMEX and ICE WTI (+9 million).

In most cases the net position is more or less the same as it was seven weeks ago; the one exception is U.S. heating oil, where a small net short position has been transformed into a small net long one.”