The short interest data have been released for the July 15 settlement date. With oil prices seemingly on the path to recovery and the Dow and S&P 500 hitting new highs, short interest is now more important than ever to follow. Although crude oil prices have backed off slightly as of late, these major oil companies have responded in kind.

The July 15 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest for the selected oil stocks was mixed.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest increase to 35.59 million shares from the previous reading of 31.82 million. Chevron shares closed Tuesday at $102.68, in a 52-week trading range of $69.58 to $107.58.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) had short interest that rose to 52.46 million shares from the previous 47.54 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $91.53, within a 52-week range of $66.55 to $95.55.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest decreased to 23.56 million shares from its previous reading of 25.34 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $34.59, in a 52-week range of $27.01 to $38.06.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw the number of its shares short decrease to 15.60 million from the previous level of 16.26 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $40.79, within a 52-week range of $31.05 to $57.24.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, saw its short interest decrease to 97.87 million shares from the previous 102.83 million. Shares closed Tuesday at $8.41, in a 52-week trading range of $2.71 to $8.57. Unfortunately, Petrobras may be trading on an entirely different set of fundamentals and sentiment due to its woes in Brazil.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) short interest increased to 14.78 million shares from the previous reading of 14.33 million. Shares closed most recently at $74.69, in a 52-week trading range of $58.24 to $78.31.

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