Oil Short-Selling Is Back in Time for Holiday Trade War Jitters

  • Hedge funds increase by 14% bets that WTI crude will decline
  • Trump shows little sign of backing down in trade war tweets
Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
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Oil short-selling has returned in time for renewed concern over the U.S.-China trade war and just as futures capped their worst month since May.

Hedge funds increased by 14% their bets that West Texas Intermediate crude will decline, following a three-week retreat, data released Friday show. The bearish stance came just in time for a last-day price slump that extended August’s drop 5.9% as China was set to impose a 5% tariff on American crude.