COLUMN-Oil prices paralysed between Russia sanctions and China lockdowns: Kemp

By John Kemp

LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - Portfolio investors purchased petroleum last week for the first time in four weeks, but overall positioning remained subdued by the high cost of margin and large uncertainties surrounding both crude supply and demand.

Hedge funds and other money managers bought the equivalent of 14 million barrels in the six most important petroleum-related futures and options contracts in the week to April 19 (https://tmsnrt.rs/3ELuZsB).

But the position has remained unchanged since mid-March as opposing concerns about the sanctions-related loss of production from Russia and lockdown-related loss of consumption in China have cancelled each other out.

The combined net long position of 553 million barrels is in only the 39th percentile for all weeks since 2013 while the ratio of long to short positions at 4.59:1 is somewhat higher in the 59th percentile.

Fund managers remain moderately bullish about the outlook for prices but extreme volatility has made it risky and expensive to maintain existing positions or initiate new ones.