Energy

Major Oil Short Interest Surges With the Markets

Chris Lange

Published: July 13, 2016 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 5:47 am

The short interest data have been released for the June 30 settlement date. With oil prices seemingly on the path to recovery and the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new highs, short interest is now more important than ever to follow.

The June 30 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest for most of the selected oil stocks increased.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest increase to 31.82 million shares from the previous reading of 31.46 million. Chevron shares closed Tuesday at $106.78, in a 52-week trading range of $69.58 to $107.30.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) had short interest that fell to 47.54 million shares from the previous 48.01 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $94.90, within a 52-week range of $66.55 to $94.94.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest increased to 25.34 million shares from its previous reading of 23.27 million. Shares closed Friday at $36.91, in a 52-week range of $27.01 to $40.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw the number of its shares short increase to 16.26 million from the previous level of 16.23 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $43.80, within a 52-week range of $31.05 to $59.74.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, saw its short interest decrease to 102.83 million shares from the previous 110.32 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $8.08, in a 52-week trading range of $2.71 to $8.70. Unfortunately, Petrobras may be trading on an entirely different set of fundamentals and sentiment due to its woes in Brazil.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) short interest increased to 14.33 million shares from the previous reading of 12.71 million. Shares closed most recently at $77.37, in a 52-week trading range of $58.24 to $78.31.