Energy

Rising Oil Prices Intimidate Short Sellers

Chris Lange

Published: July 12, 2018 10:05 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 9:07 pm

Crude oil was trading near $71 a barrel on Thursday. This comes after an incredible loss of roughly 5% on Wednesday. Crude oil dipped below $64 about a month ago. But the current crude price still pales in comparison to what it was in 2014.

The June 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in most of these selected big oil stocks decreased.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest decrease to 19.46 million shares from the previous reading of 21.26 million. The shares were last seen trading at $123.52, in a 52-week range of $102.55 to $133.88.

Short interest in Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) decreased to 31.39 million shares from the previous level of 34.50 million. The stock traded at $83.13, within a 52-week range of $72.16 to $89.30.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest decreased to 3.84 million shares from the previous reading of 5.01 million. Shares traded at $45.36, in a 52-week range of $33.90 to $47.83.

The number of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares short dropped to 16.06 million from the previous level of 17.34 million. Shares were trading at $71.44, within a 52-week range of $42.27 to $72.00.

Short interest at Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, increased to 64.07 million shares from the previous 63.71 million. The stock traded at $10.57 a share, in a 52-week range of $8.37 to $17.20. Unfortunately, Petrobras may be trading on an entirely different set of fundamentals and sentiment due to its ongoing woes in Brazil.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s (NYSE: OXY) short interest decreased to 6.42 million shares from the previous reading of 8.60 million. Shares recently traded at $84.10, in a 52-week range of $58.44 to $87.67.