Column: Oil market falls into holiday torpor
The short-covering rally in petroleum prices lost momentum last week due to prices and positions reaching long-term averages, as well as the seasonal slowdown in trading and investment activity. Hedge funds and money managers made no net change in their combined position in oil-related futures and options contracts, with bullish sentiment higher for refined fuels than for crude petroleum. Meanwhile, positions in U.S. natural gas remained unchanged as fund managers reduced both long and short positions as a risk-reducing measure following recent price and position increases.