The slump in oil that drove U.S. prices down as much as 50 percent from this year’s high is spurring the most bullish bet by hedge funds in four months. Speculators expanded their net-long position in West Texas Intermediate crude by 14 percent in the week ended Dec. 16, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Long wagers increased the most since February. Money managers have increased their net-long position by 34 percent in three weeks, even as prices kept tumbling as OPEC ministers reiterated pledges to keep pumping. Their bullishness is also reflected in exchange-traded funds that track oil, which attracted the most money in four years this month. “People are starting to feel that we not only hit the bottom but we are turning around,” Michael Lynch , president of […]