Hedge funds have boosted their bullish stance on West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude to the highest level seen since March, driven by OPEC+’s decision to delay a planned output hike and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as showing that money managers raised their net long positions on the US crude benchmark by 48,143 contracts, reaching a total of 143,985, in the week ending 5 November, marking the the strongest positive sentiment in six weeks.

WTI’s geopolitical risk premium, which had eased somewhat amid potential signs of Middle East de-escalation, surged again following reports suggesting Iran could be preparing proxy attacks on Israel from Iraqi territory.

Additional support for prices came from OPEC+'s recent decision to postpone its December production increase, alleviating trader concerns about a potential oversupply.