WTI oil speculators boosted bullish bets for 5th week

Large traders lifted bullish net positions in WTI oil for the fifth straight week in seven days to March 19th, according to the data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday. 

The non-commercial futures contracts rose by 52,481 net contracts to total a net position of 414,746 contracts. The uptick was largely a result of the rise in the gross long positions by 34,394 contracts. Meanwhile, the short positions fell by 18,087 contracts.

The bullish bets, however, may drop this week, courtesy of the heightened US and European recession fears. Oil prices are already feeling the pull of gravity - WTI is currently trading at $58.50 per barrel, having hit a four-month high of $60.37 per barrel on March 21.