Copper Speculators reduced bets back into a bearish position this week

December 22nd – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email

Copper Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:

Large precious metals speculators cut back on their net positions in the Copper futures markets this week, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.

The non-commercial futures contracts of Copper futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -2,678 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday December 18th. This was a weekly drop of -9,925 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 7,247 net contracts.

This week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position rising by 4,500 contracts to a weekly total of 76,807 contracts but being overtaken by the gross bearish position which saw a jump by 14,425 contracts for the week to a total of 79,485 contracts.

The speculative net position has now fallen for four straight weeks and for five out of the past six weeks. The current standing is back in an overall bearish position for the first time since September 18th.

Copper Commercial Positions:

The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of 1,664 contracts on the week. This was a weekly advance of 8,470 contracts from the total net of -6,806 contracts reported the previous week.

Copper Futures:

Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the Copper Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $266.45 which was a loss of $-10.25 from the previous close of $276.70, according to unofficial market data.

*COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the most recent Tuesday (data is 3 days old) and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) as well as the commercial traders (hedgers & traders for business purposes) were positioned in the futures markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators). Find CFTC criteria here: (http://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/CommitmentsofTraders/ExplanatoryNotes/index.htm).

Article By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email