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

MeNews · 2026-04-09T00:10:25+00:00

A group of crude oil traders heavily shorted bets on falling oil prices, resulting in most incurring losses. ETF investors poured a record $977 million into SCO, but the fund still declined 41% in March. Meanwhile, long-position funds also set records, leading to a highly polarized market.

MeNews

2026-04-09 00:10:25

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ME News update: On April 2 (UTC+8), a batch of crude oil traders massively went short, betting that oil prices would retreat from war-driven highs, but so far most traders have suffered heavy losses. Data show that in March, ETF investors poured $977 million into ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO), the largest single-month net inflow since the fund was launched in 2008. SCO provides daily returns that are two times the inverse of crude oil price movements. Despite record inflows, SCO’s total assets are still only $970 million, lower than the total inflows for the whole month.

Asym 500 founder Rocky Fishman said: “This is a bet on ‘the war ending soon.’” After President Trump once again hinted that he might end the Iran war, the fund rose 8%, but it still fell 41% in March, marking the worst performance in nearly six years. However, short bets are only half the picture—long funds also set records. The United States Oil Fund (USO) attracted about $700 million in March, the largest single-month inflow since the pandemic, while the U.S. Brent crude oil fund (BNO) pulled in $600 million, the highest on record. The market is highly split, with leveraged capital hedging against each side’s bets. (Jin10) (Source: ODAILY)

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