Short sellers heavily bet on a crash in crude oil, most facing severe setbacks

ME News Report, April 2nd (UTC+8), a group of crude oil traders heavily shorted, betting that prices would fall from the war-driven highs, but most traders are currently facing heavy losses. Data shows that in March, ETF investors poured $977 million into the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO), marking the largest monthly inflow since the fund’s inception in 2008. SCO provides twice the inverse return of crude oil price movements daily. Despite the record inflow, SCO’s total assets remain only $970 million, less than the total monthly inflow. Asym 500 founder Rocky Fishman said, “This is a bet that ‘the war will end soon’.” After President Trump hinted again that the Iran war might end, the fund rose 8%, but in March, it still fell 41%, marking its worst performance in nearly six years. However, short bets are only half the story; long funds also set records. The US Oil Fund (USO) attracted about $700 million in March, the largest single-month inflow since the pandemic began, and the US Brent Oil Fund (BNO) attracted $600 million, hitting a record high. The market is highly polarized, with leveraged funds hedging bets on both sides. (Jin10) (Source: ODAILY)