By Claudia Assis
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Investors flocked to gasoline futures, pushing open interest in futures contracts and options to a record in the week ended Feb. 21, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed late Friday. Open interest rose 3.2% to 375,019 lots, an increase of 18% from a year ago, said in a note to clients Tim Evans, an analyst with Citi Futures Perspective. Net longs, or bets prices will go higher, also reached a record among money managers. "Buying is bullish, but the large positions also constitute vulnerability to downward price reversals," he said. Gasoline futures RBH2 +1.10% gained 4.6% this week, and are 17% higher year-to-date.
