The annual five-day rebalancing of portfolios beginning on Friday could attract as much as US$9 billion buying into crude oil contracts, putting upward pressure on oil prices, investment banks and analysts tell Bloomberg . The rebalancing of indices to adjust the weighting of assets in portfolios is being done every year so that target allocations or risk levels are restored. However, the rebalancing this year could attract more than usual buyers into crude oil contracts because of the 20-percent decline of oil prices during 2020. According to estimates from Citigroup, the next five days could see a buying spree in oil futures that could be as high as US$9 billion to adjust the weighting of the major commodity-linked indices. The market will likely see long positions into another 80 to 100 million barrels equivalent of oil futures contracts, which could drive oil prices by $2-$3 a barrel, Gary Ross, […]