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Possible Opec deal to freeze output pushes oil to US$50

Money managers cut bets on falling prices by the most ever; WTI goes from a bear to a bull market in three weeks

Published Mon, Aug 22, 2016 · 09:50 PM

New York

THE Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has done it again. Talk of a potential deal to freeze output helped push oil close to US$50 a barrel and prompted money managers to cut bets on falling prices by the most ever. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, went from a bear to a bull market in less than three weeks.

Opec is on course to agree to a production freeze because its biggest members are pumping flat-out, said C…