In other markets, hedge funds and other large speculators increased bullish crude oil wagers by 5,538 futures and options combined, or 2.3 percent, to 252,199.
WTI crude gained $2.47, or 2.6 percent, to $98.51 a barrel on the Nymex in the week covered by the report and settled at $96.60 on Dec. 13. Oil rose to a six-week high on Dec. 10 amid speculation that government data would show a second consecutive drop in U.S. inventories.
Net-long positions in gasoline held by money managers, including hedge funds, commodity pools and commodity-trading advisers, climbed by 221 futures and options combined, or 0.5 percent, to 45,745, the CFTC report showed. Futures slid 4.08 cents a gallon, or 1.5 percent, to $2.6829 in the week covered by the report. Gasoline settled at $2.6293 on Dec. 13.
Gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, fell 0.5 cent to $3.248 a gallon, the fifth consecutive decline, Heathrow, Florida-based AAA said Dec. 13 on its website.
Money managers’ bets on ultra-low sulfur diesel advanced by 6,373, or 33 percent, to 25,551 futures and options combined, the CFTC report showed. Futures slipped 1.6 percent to $3.0173 a gallon in the week covered by the report and settled at $2.9757 a gallon on Dec. 13.
“We’re looking at a very different outlook for natural gas in 2014 compared with a few months ago,” Viswanath said. “With a very cold winter, we may turn a corner and have a market in equilibrium rather than a market with too much supply.”