As of the week ending September 1, the net long positions in WTI crude oil increased to 118,894 contracts.

The data released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows that in the statistical week ending September 1, crude oil speculative traders increased their net long positions in WTI crude oil by 15,816 contracts, bringing the total net long position to 118,894 contracts. In addition, natural gas speculative traders on the four major markets of NYMEX and ICE increased their net short positions by 11,098 contracts, with the current net short position at 50,697 contracts. Generally, such changes in speculative positions can, to some extent, reflect short-term market expectations for crude oil and natural gas price trends. An increase in crude oil net long positions usually indicates increased confidence in a future oil price rise, while the increase in natural gas net shorts reflects that speculative funds are more bearish on natural gas prices in the short term.