Oil Weighed Down by Short Speculators Says ATB Holdings
Technical analysis indicators show that oil is oversold, which means
there are more bears in the market than bulls and the momentum down has
started to slow down report ATB Holdings
TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ATB
Holdings have noticed a recent hike in short selling contracts on
Brent Oil as it reached its highest levels in six years. Short selling
must be bought back before the term of the future contract is over. Some
traders expect to see a sharp rise in the oil prices fueled by profit
taking and stop losses investors placed to protect their positions.
Fundamental data from the US, the unexpected increase in the US
inventories, and bearish technical indicators pushed the prices of Brent
Oil to $44.35 last week, the lowest it has seen in six months. The move
in oil prices was strong which pulled the market to an oversold state.
Daniel Holland who is the Head of Corporate Derivatives at ATB
Holdings believes that the market is positioned for a sudden trend
reversal, adding that number of short contracts is very high, and the
sentiment is very negative, all are signs of reversal as the efficient
markets tend to balance itself.
Such reversals are short lived, in the long run, supply and demand
determine the price trends. Funds have built a huge short position in
the last few weeks, if these funds decided to cover their shorts, it
could trigger the short-term increase in prices. Funds buying and
selling decisions are based on technical analysis.
Last year the same happened when OPEC (Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries) agreed to cut their oil production in November
2016. Speculators and investors covered a big portion of their short
positions in response to OPEC’s decision, wiping out over 114 million
barrels of short contracts in just one month, the reaction pushed Brent
contract price up $12 a barrel in the same period.
This time, both fundamentals and technical indicators worked in favor of
the bears, the increase in US inventories and bearish technical signals
caused an increase of the short selling and at some level it snow-balled
pushing the market further down.
Director of Investment Management Division at ATB
Holdings Charles Sutton commented, “the market players got carried
over with the short selling, some of these positions will be cleared
with the price increase.”
Andrew Hayward, an advisory at ATB
Holdings doesn’t believe the oil fundamentals are pointing north, he
thinks the move up will present an opportunity for a better place to
sell.
About: ATB Holdings is a private wealth management company for
retail and corporate clients. Established in late 2008 ATB Holdings has
been pursuing the interests of its clients by offering various financial
products and instruments through careful tailored advice to meet their
requirements.
Source: ATB Holdings
Contacts
ATB Holdings
Mr. Shiro Tetsuya, +81345400915
[email protected],
www.atbholdings.com