Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 10 million barrels of futures and options on U.S. diesel and European gas oil over the seven days ending Aug. 8.
In the premier NYMEX WTI contract, short positions had been reduced by 91 million barrels or two-thirds since June 27.
The total position has risen to a net long of 707 billion cubic feet (47th percentile for all weeks since 2010) up from a net short of 1,061 billion cubic feet (7th percentile) at the end of January.
But the surplus had narrowed slowly but progressively from 299 billion cubic feet (+12% or +0.81 standard deviations) on June 30.
Related columns:- U.S. diesel prices surge anticipating a soft landing (Aug. 11, 2023)- Crude oil and fuels draw funds as sentiment shifts (Aug. 7, 2023)- Short-covering by hedge funds lifted oil prices (Aug. 1, 2023)- Depleted U.S. diesel stocks attract hedge funds (July 20, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.
Persons:
Guan, Brent, John Kemp, Jan Harvey
Organizations:
Phillips, Los, Los Angeles Refinery, Funds, ICE, U.S, Thomson, Reuters
Locations:
Los Angeles, Carson , California, U.S