# Hedge Funds Back Off on Oil as Saudis Signal OPEC to Open Spigot - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com

> Hedge funds cut bets on rising WTI prices to the lowest level in more than a year, with positioning down to a level last seen in 2015. Saudi Arabia said OPEC is in a produce-as-much-as-you-can mode to offset Iran sanctions and has raised output to 10.7 million barrels a day.

- Date: 2018-10-29 · published 2018-10-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: geopolitics · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/62706-hedge-funds-back-off-on-oil-as-saudis-signal-opec-to-open-spigot-energy-news
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md)

## Why it matters

Expanded OPEC supply to offset Iranian barrels points to softer crude prices, which lowers energy and freight costs for feed buyers but reduces support for biofuel-linked vegetable oils.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bearish ▼
- BRENT: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2018-11-01 | 5 | -7.1% | -2.8 | Hedge funds cut bullish oil bets to multi-year lows while Saudi Arabia signaled more output, reflecting sentiment and positioning pressure. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WTI | 2026-02-01 | [Oil Falls 5% on US-Iran De-Escalation - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8799-oil-falls-5-on-us-iran-de-escalation-energy-news-top-headlines-commentaries.md) | -1.6% | +9.9% |
| WTI | 2020-09-21 | [Oil Declines on Signs of Libya Restart With Virus Cases Growing - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/51295-oil-declines-on-signs-of-libya-restart-with-virus-cases-growing-energy-news-top.md) | -2.4% | -0.8% |
| WTI | 2025-09-29 | [Oil Prices Slip as Kurdistan Resumes Crude Exports, OPEC+ Plans Output Hike - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23039-oil-prices-slip-as-kurdistan-resumes-crude-exports-opec-plans-output-hike.md) | -7.3% | -6.4% |
| WTI | 2020-07-15 | [OPEC and allies to ease cuts, allow more oil production \| AP News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/52002-opec-and-allies-to-ease-cuts-allow-more-oil-production-ap-news.md) | +3.8% | +3.1% |
| WTI | 2026-10-29 | [Oil prices fall as hopes of US-Iran peace talks ease supply fears \| Commodity News - Business Standard](https://feedsoft.ai/events/253-oil-prices-fall-as-hopes-of-us-iran-peace-talks-ease-supply-fears-commodity.md) | -2.3% | — |
| BRENT | 2026-02-01 | [Oil Falls 5% on US-Iran De-Escalation - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8799-oil-falls-5-on-us-iran-de-escalation-energy-news-top-headlines-commentaries.md) | -3.1% | +0.6% |
| BRENT | 2020-09-21 | [Oil Declines on Signs of Libya Restart With Virus Cases Growing - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/51295-oil-declines-on-signs-of-libya-restart-with-virus-cases-growing-energy-news-top.md) | -2.9% | -1.2% |
| BRENT | 2025-09-29 | [Oil Prices Slip as Kurdistan Resumes Crude Exports, OPEC+ Plans Output Hike - Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23039-oil-prices-slip-as-kurdistan-resumes-crude-exports-opec-plans-output-hike.md) | -7.5% | -6.8% |

## Sources

- energynow.com: https://energynow.com/2018/10/hedge-funds-back-off-on-oil-as-saudis-signal-opec-to-open-spigot/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.