New York: Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-short positions, or bets that natural gas prices will fall, to a record last week, according to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Wagers that natural gas will decline outnumbered those that prices will rise by 205,155 contracts in the week ended April 20, according to the commission's Commitments of Traders report on Friday.
That's the largest number since the CFTC began to compile data for the contract in 1993 and a 5 per cent increase from the week before.
Natural gas for May delivery climbed 21.8 cents, or 5.4 per cent, to settle at $4.257 per million British thermal units last week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have fallen 24 per cent this year.
Heating oil
Speculators reduced their net long positions, or bets on higher prices, for gasoline and heating oil, according to the commission's report.
Net-long positions for gasoline fell for a second week. They outnumbered shorts by 70,259, a decline of 6,366, or 8.3 per cent, from the previous week. Gasoline long positions have outnumbered shorts since at least 2006.
