Speculator Extremes: Yen, VIX, Cotton & WTI Crude Oil top Bullish & Bearish Positions

By InvestMacro 

The latest update for the weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) report was released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday for data ending on September 10th.

This weekly Extreme Positions report highlights the Most Bullish and Most Bearish Positions for the speculator category. Extreme positioning in these markets can foreshadow strong moves in the underlying market.

To signify an extreme position, we use the Strength Index (also known as the COT Index) of each instrument, a common method of measuring COT data. The Strength Index is simply a comparison of current trader positions against the range of positions over the previous 3 years. We use over 80 percent as extremely bullish and under 20 percent as extremely bearish. (Compare Strength Index scores across all markets in the data table or cot leaders table)

Here Are This Week’s Most Bullish Speculator Positions:

Japanese Yen

The Japanese Yen speculator position comes in as the most bullish extreme standing this week. The Japanese Yen speculator level is currently at a maximum 100.0 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the percent strength score totaled 53.8 this week. The overall net speculator position was a total of 55,770 net contracts this week with a jump by 14,654 contract in the weekly speculator bets.

Speculators or Non-Commercials Notes:

Speculators, classified as non-commercial traders by the CFTC, are made up of large commodity funds, hedge funds and other significant for-profit participants. The Specs are generally regarded as trend-followers in their behavior towards price action – net speculator bets and prices tend to go in the same directions. These traders often look to buy when prices are rising and sell when prices are falling. To illustrate this point, many times speculator contracts can be found at their most extremes (bullish or bearish) when prices are also close to their highest or lowest levels.

These extreme levels can be dangerous for the large speculators as the trade is most crowded, there is less trading ammunition still sitting on the sidelines to push the trend further and prices have moved a significant distance. When the trend becomes exhausted, some speculators take profits while others look to also exit positions when prices fail to continue in the same direction. This process usually plays out over many months to years and can ultimately create a reverse effect where prices start to fall and speculators start a process of selling when prices are falling.

VIX

The VIX speculator position comes next in the extreme standings this week. The VIX speculator level is now at a 98.8 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the percent strength score was 37.4 this week. The speculator position registered -15,111 net contracts this week with a weekly rise of 10,778 contracts in speculator bets.

3-Month Secured Overnight Financing Rate

The 3-Month Secured Overnight Financing Rate speculator position comes in third this week in the extreme standings. The 3-Month Secured Overnight Financing Rate speculator level resides at a 98.7 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score came in at 29.2 this week. The overall speculator position was 744,227 net contracts this week with a huge boost of 112,656 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

Gold

The Gold speculator position comes up number four in the extreme standings this week. The Gold speculator level is at a 95.1 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score totaled a change of 14.8 this week. The overall speculator position was 282,501 net contracts this week with a dip of -5,057 contracts in the speculator bets.

Ultra U.S. Treasury Bonds

The Ultra U.S. Treasury Bonds speculator position rounds out the top five in this week’s bullish extreme standings. The Ultra U.S. Treasury Bonds speculator level sits at a 91.2 percent score of its 3-year range. The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was 73.0 this week.

The speculator position was -259,158 net contracts this week with a decline of -18,956 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

This Week’s Most Bearish Speculator Positions:

Cotton

The Cotton speculator position comes in as the most bearish extreme standing this week. The Cotton speculator level is at the lowest possible value of a 0.0 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -5.2 this week. The overall speculator position was -46,111 net contracts this week with a drop of -7,957 contracts in the speculator bets.

WTI Crude Oil

The WTI Crude Oil speculator position comes in next for the most bearish extreme standing on the week. The WTI Crude Oil speculator level is at a just 0.6 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -36.2 this week. The speculator position totaled 140,014 net contracts this week with a slide of -37,021 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

5-Year Bond

The 5-Year Bond speculator position comes in as third most bearish extreme standing of the week. The 5-Year Bond speculator level resides at a 1.0 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -3.9 this week. The overall speculator position was -1,719,996 net contracts this week with a small dip by -1,300 contracts in the speculator bets.

10-Year Note

The 10-Year Note speculator position comes in as this week’s fourth most bearish extreme standing. The 10-Year Note speculator level is at a 1.3 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -24.1 this week. The speculator position was -1,022,105 net contracts this week with a fall by -19,278 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

Gasoline

Finally, the Gasoline speculator position comes in as the fifth most bearish extreme standing for this week. The Gasoline speculator level is at a 5.6 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -10.3 this week. The speculator position was 15,637 net contracts this week with a decrease by -4,221 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Newsletter

*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) 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) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting). See CFTC criteria here.