Speculators cut net longs in Brent crude - short selling rises

Money managers cut their net longs in Brent crude oil by nearly 9k contracts during the week ending April 24 according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange. At the same time they increased their net long positions in gasoil by 9.5k contracts.

The change in Brent crude brought the net long position down to 113.9 million barrels from a recent peak of 151 million just one month ago.

While the long position remained unchanged from last week the short position rose to 56.2 contracts, the highest level since late January, reflecting lower prices but also the contraction in the spread between WTI and Brent during the last few weeks.