Hedge funds essentially stopped the sell-off in oil futures contracts last week as the rising tension between the United States and Iran overtook fears of a global economic slowdown. According to exchange data compiled by Reuters columnist John Kemp, hedge funds and other money managers were net sellers of a total of 3 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures contracts in the week ending June 18. Although portfolio managers sold petroleum futures for yet another week, last week’s net sale was the smallest in the past eight…
