In the week ending 18 Feb, combined open interest (OI) across both Brent and WTI futures climbed for a second consecutive week, increasing just under 22mb (+0.5%) w/w. This was a more modest rise compared to a 67mb (+1.6%) increase in OI for the week ending 11 Feb. This week, the jump in OI was due to a 57.6mb (+2.3%) w/w increase in Brent futures OI, whereas WTI saw a weekly decrease of 35.6mb (-2%). Across the crude benchmarks, money managers removed length in the week to 18 Feb, reducing their long positions by 35.1mb (-6.1%) w/w, while increasing their short positions for a fourth consecutive week by 13.2mb (+8.2%) w/w. This brought the money manager long:short split down from 3.56:1.00 to 3.09:1.00 w/w. The week to 18 Feb also marks the fourth consecutive decline in money manager net positioning, which fell 48.3mb (-11.6%) w/w down to 367mb, the lowest level seen since the week ending 24 Dec. Other reportables were also risk-off for the first time in three weeks, reducing their longs by 3.1mb (-1%). This is likely a reaction to ongoing uncertainty surrounding US tariffs and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, with market players becoming more risk-averse as a result.
