Brent Crude speculative net-long position rises to near record

Hedge funds and other money managers raised bullish bets on Brent Crude by 10,925 contracts during the week ending January 8 according to data released by the ICE Futures Europe exchange. This was the fourth consecutive week of rising net-long positions and the total net-long of 150,036 is now less than 900 contracts from the record high seen on March 23 last year, during which time the price of Brent Crude was hovering above USD 123 per barrel spurred on by worries about potential supply shortages as the Iranian sanctions moved closer.