OPEC cuts prompt record bets on oil rise - BBG

Analysts at Bloomberg note that investor optimism on WTI oil prices reached an all-time high as the OPEC delivers on pledges to reduce production. 

According to the latest CFTC data, Money managers’ net-long position in WTI increased by 30,951 futures and options to 390,338, the most in data going back to 2006. Longs rose 3.1% to an all-time high, while shorts tumbled 30%.

Bloomberg reports, “Hedge funds boosted their net-long position on WTI, or the difference between bets on a price increase and wagers on a decline, by 8.6 percent in the week ended Feb. 14, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. After some hesitation in the previous week, it was the fifth time this year that they’ve upped their bullish stance, and the third they took it to a new record.”

Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures, noted, “"Money managers have confidence that there will be either a further, ongoing investor flow that will keep prices elevated, OPEC cuts will continue and start reducing inventories, or increased demand will reduce supply in the second half of the year."