* U.S. rig count falls for 10th straight week
* Traders boost their bets on rising cude prices
* Short positions in crude at 2016 lows: http://tmsnrt.rs/1QFA03W
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Crude futures edged up in early Asian trading on Monday after gaining over 15 percent last week, and some indicators point to the possibility that the market is showing signs of bottoming out.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were trading at $32.88 per barrel at 0053 GMT, up 10 cents from their last settlement, and after gaining over 15 percent the previous week.
International Brent futures LCOc1 were at $35.15 a barrel, up 5 cents from their last close.
Analysts said that first signs of a strengthening market outlook were appearing after a 20 month rout that has seen prices fall by 70 percent.
"The Russian/Saudi production freeze talks continue to support the market, while in the U.S., shale producers continue to pull rigs from the ground in an effort to reduce spending. Baker Hughes data suggest U.S. oil rig counts fell by 13 to 400," ANZ bank said on Monday. data also suggests early signs of shifting sentiment.
The amount of open positions in WTI crude contracts that bet on a further fall in prices has fallen over 17 percent since mid-February to their lowest level in 2016, although by historic levels their amount remains high (see chart: http://tmsnrt.rs/1QFA03W).
At the same time, financial speculators have sharply raised their bullish bets on oil after talk of a global production freeze and signs of falling U.S. shale crude output and growing gasoline demand.
Money managers raised their combined net long position in crude futures and options in New York and London by nearly 16 percent for the week ended Feb. 23, data by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed.
"The increase in speculative net longs in the CFTC report certainly reflects some traders' belief that oil has put in a near term bottom after the 20-month long selloff," said Chris Jarvis, analyst at Caprock Risk Management in Frederick, Maryland. CHART-Volume of open WTI shorts drops sharply:
http://tmsnrt.rs/1QFA03W
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