Oil appears unstoppable as hedge funds take bets to new high

New York

THE enthusiasm in oil markets is breaking records.

Hedge funds reported record wagers on continued price increases for both US and global oil benchmarks, along with petrol and diesel. Meanwhile, producers are hedging production at record rates as oil experiences its best January since 2006.

"There is a lot of interest in the direction of crude oil," Rob Thummel, managing director at Tortoise Capital Advisors, which handles US$16 billion in energy-related assets, said. "The long oil trade continues to be the place to be."

The tailwinds propelling futures to three-year highs increasingly converge: OPEC has shown unprecedented discipline in sticking to output cuts; Russia and Saudi Arabia are doubling down on their…