Speculators flee bearish bets as spectre of US$20 oil recedes

New York

HEDGE funds unwound bearish bets at the fastest pace in 10 months as fears of oil sinking to US$20 a barrel faded.

A lot has happened since Goldman Sachs Group made that forecast a month ago. Some US shale drillers have thrown in the towel after a year of maintaining supply in the face of plunging prices, saying they'll pump less in 2016. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other large producers have frozen output and plan to meet later this month to discuss further measures to support prices.

"We might see the real bottom being behind us," Ed Morse, head of global commodity research at Citigroup Inc, said in an interview on Friday with Bloomberg TV. "Eventually we'll see US supply fal…