The oil market has all but forgotten last year’s price crash.
Money managers have not been this optimistic about US oil prices since early October, just before the crude market began a steep decline on fears of a global oversupply, Bloomberg reported.
Crude made a steady comeback this year and sentiment has climbed alongside it, with the net-long position rising for the sixth straight week in data posted on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate crude prices rallied almost 5% this week as OPEC stuck to output cuts and blackouts continued to sap Venezuelan production. While the economic outlook remains uncertain, there have been enough positive signs --- including encouraging US jobs data --- to allay the worst fears about demand, said Nick Holmes, an analyst at Leawood, Kansas-based Tortoise.
“China has put on stimulus, the Fed is pretty much all-in dovish on interest rates and it seems like we could be near an end to the trade war,” said Holmes, whose firm manages $16 billion in energy investments.
“A lot of the risks that people saw have abated here in 2019 and that’s driving the market higher.”
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