By Michael Kern - Aug 10, 2026, 9:00 AM CDT
Money managers cut WTI net longs by 7,257 lots and Brent net longs by 20,361 lots (11%) in the week to Aug. 4, the second straight weekly decline.
The pullback comes despite no real progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with analysts at ING and Saxo Bank both flagging thin conviction in a sustained rally.
Prices rebounded to start this week after Iran issued six demands for a U.S. peace deal and the Houthis claimed a strike on an Aramco refinery in Jazan, pushing Brent to $84.67 and WTI to $79.30.
Money managers have reduced their bullish bets on both Brent and WTI crude futures over the past two weeks despite little progress on a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.In the latest reporting week to August 4, portfolio managers trimmed their net long position in NYMEX WTI by 7,257 lots to 101,050 lots, data from the exchanges found. The net long position, the difference between bullish and bearish bets, in ICE Brent crude oil futures was slashed by 11%, or by 20,361 lots to 164,722 lots.This was the second consecutive weekly decline in speculative positions in the two key crude oil futures benchmarks as traders and speculators are hesitant to add more bullish bets on a price rally.Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google here.Oil prices have dropped over the past two weeks amid hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and Iran and Oman could reach a deal on a joint management of some of the lanes.“Speculative sentiment turned more cautious last week,” ING’s commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note early on Monday.According to Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, the energy complex saw reduced exposure in the weekly Commitment of Traders report through August 4 despite persistent supply risks.“Renewed price weakness drove a 25k reduction in the combined crude net long to 266k contracts, following 171k of net buying during the previous three weeks,” Hansen said.“Despite persistent geopolitical supply risks, positioning continues to signal limited conviction in a sustained price rally,” the commodity expert noted.Meanwhile, crude oil prices began this week with a gain following a statement by Iran setting six demands for a peace deal with the United States and claims from the Houthis that they had struck an Aramco refinery in Jazan.As of 10:00 a.m. ET, the Brent front-month futures were up by 2.70% at $85.81. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was trading 2.69% higher at $80.28.BY Michael Kern for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comVenezuela’s Oil Exports Fall Even as U.S. Shipments Hit Seven-Year HighCiti Lifts Brent Outlook but Still Sees Oil Falling in 2027Why Trump’s Waiver of the Jones Act Is Unlikely To Lower Gas Prices
