Big players lock in cheap oil before the tide turns

Big industrial fuel users jumped into the derivatives market to hedge against future rises in fuel prices, buying long Brent contracts as the international benchmark fell below $70 a barrel last week. Swap dealers’ long positions in Brent Crude rose by the third-biggest jump on record last week as over-the-counter trading to take advantage of higher prices accelerated. Industrial consumers such as airlines and shipping companies typically hedge their exposure to the oil and fuel market. In…