Hedge Funds Ramped Up Bullish Oil Bets Ahead of Israel's Attack
Hedge funds took the most bullish stance on US crude since January in the week before Israel launched strikes against Iran's nuclear program, putting them in a position to profit from this week's jump in oil prices.
Money managers increased their net-long position on West Texas Intermediate by 16,056 lots to 179,134 lots in the week ended June 10, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. Hedge funds' bullish position on Brent crude rose to a 10-week high, according to figures from ICE Futures Europe.
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31 minutes ago
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US stock futures higher as Israel-Iran conflict spikes oil prices Show Caption Hide Caption Global oil prices spike after Israeli strike on Iran Global oil prices surged after Israel launched a strike on Iran, escalating fears of wider conflict in the Middle East. unbranded - Newsworthy U.S. stock futures are higher even as fighting between Israel and Iran spiked oil prices. Futures linked to the blue-chip Dow rose 0.36%, while broad S&P 500 futures added 0.42% and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures gained 0.49%. Oil prices extended gains after Israel temporarily knocked out a natural gas processing facility and targeted fuel storage tanks during strikes over the weekend as part of its campaign against Tehran's nuclear program. Oil jumped by the most in three years late last week when Israel first attacked Iran and Iran fired back. Iran is considering shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a senior commander said, but analysts were skeptical this would happen. "The closure of Hormuz is a low-risk event as Iran would be damaging its own position, both economically and politically, by irritating its main customer," said Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities research at JP Morgan, in a note late last main players in the Middle East have strong incentives to keep the conflict contained given the economic transformation currently planned and implemented in the Gulf region requires a sustained absence of conflict." Separtely, President Donald Trump warned Iran not to touch U.S. targets or else it could face the "full strength and might" of the American military. Oil prices, inflation and the Fed If the Israel-Iran conflict causes oil prices to continue surging, inflation will jump and consumers will pay the price. The price of oil makes up about half the price of a gallon of gas, so one of the first things to be affected by rising oil prices would be prices at the pump. But oil also affects the cost of producing things and transporting them to your local store, so even consumers who don't drive or use public transportation will eventually feel the squeeze of more expensive oil one way or another. The threat of inflation will likely keep the Federal Reserve on hold, economists said. Almost no one forecasts a rate cut when the Fed wraps up its two-day policy meeting mid-week, according to the CME Fed Watch tool that tracks the odds the market puts on a rate move at each Fed meeting. Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@ and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
