Energy: The divergence in speculative interest between WTI and Brent crude oil continued in the week to May 12. The 5% rally in CLM0 attracted another 25k lots of fresh longs with the net rising to 325k lots, the highest since September 2018. Brent crude oil (LCON0) meanwhile traded lower by 3% resulting in the net long being cut by 21k lots to 156k lots. The combined net-long reached a three months high at 481k lots with WTI contributing two-third of the nearly 300k lots funds have added during the past six weeks.
As mentioned in my latest ‘Commodity Weekly’, the short-lived collapse to a negative WTI price last month probably saved the market. It helped accelerate dramatic cuts in global production, estimated by the IEA to hit 12 million barrels/day this month. With demand beginning to recover and US producers having made substantial cuts, WTI crude oil has so far been the go to contract for bullish speculators. However, driving the price to high before fundamentals can support a sustained recovery carries the risk of US shale oil producers turning the taps back on to soon.
Natural gas’ failure to sustain a rally above $2/therm helped trigger a 19% correction and a 30% reduction in the net long to 112k lots. The price had rallied strongly from the March low on the outlook for lower production from associated oil production. Milder weather combined with continued lockdowns leading to lower demand and reduced export demand for LNG all helped drive the price lower.