Traders Dump Oil as Bearish Sentiment Builds

Growing concerns about China’s economy and oil demand prompted traders to head for the exit and reduce their net long positions in both key benchmarks last week. Speculators reduced their net long position – the difference between bullish and bearish bets – in ICE Brent by 37,541 lots over the latest reporting week to July 23, leaving them with a net long of 146,349 lots as of last Tuesday, ING’s commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Monday. Traders also dumped WTI Crude, with the net…