Short sellers heavily bet on a crash in crude oil, most facing significant losses

ME News reports that on April 2 (UTC+8), a group of crude oil traders aggressively shorted the market, betting that oil prices would fall from the war-driven highs. However, most traders have suffered significant losses so far. Data shows that in March, ETF investors poured $977 million into the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO), marking the largest single-month inflow since the fund’s establishment in 2008. SCO offers twice the inverse of daily crude oil price movements. Despite these record inflows, SCO’s total assets remain only $970 million, less than the total monthly inflow. Asym 500 founder Rocky Fishman said, “This is betting that ‘the war ends soon’.” After President Trump again hinted that the Iran war might be coming to an end, the fund rose 8%, but it still declined 41% in March, marking its worst performance in nearly six years. However, short bets only represent half of the market picture—long positions also set records. The USO (United States Oil Fund) attracted about $700 million in March, the largest single-month inflow since the pandemic began, while the BNO (United States Brent Oil Fund) pulled in $600 million, reaching a record high. The market remains highly divided, with leveraged capital hedging against both sides’ bets. (Jin10) (Source: ODAILY)