BusinessWeek – Hedge funds sold oil at the fastest pace in almost eight months, cutting their bullish bets by 32 percent as crude prices plunged on concern Europe’s debt crisis will hurt energy demand.
The speculative net-long position in crude oil futures and options combined on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to 89,335 in the week ended May 18, the biggest percentage decline since Sept. 29, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders Report on May 21.
