I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Zhitong Finance APP learned that due to rare signals from the United States and Iran to ease tensions, hedge funds cut crude oil long positions by the largest margin since June, positioning themselves advantageously amid the oil price sell-off following the Democrats' sweep of Congress. According to data from ICE Futures Europe and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), for the week ended November 3, fund managers reduced the combined net long positions in West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent crude by 78,492 contracts to 272,075 contracts. This was the largest decline since this summer, when the U.S. and Iran reached a temporary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude oil prices fell this week after a series of reports indicated that both Tehran and Washington were open to diplomatic channels. It was reported that Iran's Supreme Leader had approved the government's continuation of negotiations; meanwhile, U.S. President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that he wanted to give dialogue with Iran a chance.
However, the drop in oil prices early in the week came too late to alleviate energy prices that had already surged before the key U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday. The election was widely seen as a referendum on the Iran war and cost-of-living issues. After the Democrats' landslide victory, crude oil futures prices fell further as investors bet that the election results would accelerate the end of the Iran war, thereby lowering domestic fuel costs in the U.S.
On November 6, the near-month contract for Brent crude delivered in January was quoted at $98.32 per barrel, down 13.32% for the week, marking the largest weekly decline since 2020. The near-month contract for New York crude delivered in December was quoted at $90.83 per barrel, down 12.76% for the week.