Tsvetana is a writer for the U.S.-based Divergente LLC consulting firm with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and… The escalating U.S.-China trade war is deterring hedge funds and other money managers from opening new positions in the WTI and Brent benchmarks, with total bets dropping to their lowest since 2016 in the week to July 31, according to data by European and U.S. options and futures exchanges compiled by Bloomberg.