As ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries head to Vienna, hedge funds have almost never been more bearish about the outlook for oil prices. Hedge funds and other money managers held short positions in the main WTI and Brent crude futures and options contracts amounting to 294 million barrels on Nov. 24, according to regulators. The combined short position has risen by 126 million barrels since the middle of October and is within a whisker of the record level of 297 million barrels set in mid-August. Commentators and investors are almost unanimous in expecting OPEC to leave its production target unchanged (or even increase it slightly to accommodate the return of Indonesia). In turn, investors expect the oil market […]