Funds hold steady in Brent, turn bullish LSG

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Funds trimmed net-length in Brent on the ICE bouse last week amid a general sell-off in open interest contracts, but turned bullish about European distillate futures, a Commitment of Traders report released Tuesday showed.

Concerns over the impact on global oil demand from the spike of Covid-19 infections in India trumped a sharp fall in the dollar index.

Funds added 4,530 long lots but also cut 5,175 short lots in Brent futures and options over the week to April 27, reducing net-length exposure by 645 lots.

The number of long lots held compared to short dropped to a ratio of 4.53, down from 4.76 a week earlier.

In the first half of March, the ratio was over 6.

Total open interest in Brent futures and options also fell on the week, dropping almost 280,000 lots to around 3.065 million.

The dollar index came under pressure during the week, falling to 90.91 points on April 27, down from 91.24 points on April 20.

But funds grew more bullish about European distillate futures.

Money managers added 12,018 lots and cut 3,399 short lots in Low Sulfur Gasoil futures and options over the week to last Tuesday.

Net-length jumped 15,417 lots, split between 132,301 long lots and 14,234 shirt lots.

Funds held 12% of total open interest in the distillate future on the ICE exchange, their highest share this year.