Hedge funds increase bullish U.S. crude bets

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge funds and other money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the latest week, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Monday.

The speculator group raise its combined futures and options position in New York and London by 251 contracts to 378,951 during the week ended June 30. The data was delayed from Friday due to the Independence Day holiday in the U.S.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 3% in the period to $39.27 a barrel as market attention turned to rising coronavirus cases in the United States and concerns that Libya and other producers would boost output.

During the same period, natural gas speculators in four major New York Mercantile Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange markets raised their net long positions by 25,685 contracts to 123,719 in the week.

(Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault; editing by Jonathan Oatis)