Oil prices rallied at the start of 2018 with WTI crude topping $66/barrel in late January. Short interest in the U.S./Canadian Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuel Sector tracked higher along with the price of crude, hitting a year-to-date high of $55.2 billion in mid-January. By the time WTI crude hit its year-to-date low of $58.98 on February 14th, short interest in the sector had just hit its year-to-date low of $43.1 billion on February 12th. Since hitting its lows, the price of WTI crude has risen 15% to $67.83 and short interest in the sector has increased by 27% to $54.8 billion. Oil & gas equity short sellers have been shorting into crude price strength and covering on price weakness.