By CountingPips.com – CFTC Weekly Commitment of Traders Report
WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Positions:
Large speculators and traders trimmed their net positions in the WTI crude oil futures markets last week following three weeks of increases, 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 WTI crude futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 407,995 contracts in the data reported through October 18th. This was a weekly change of -5,655 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 413,650 net contracts.
WTI Crude Oil Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, categorized by the CFTC as hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of -408,739 contracts last week. This is a weekly change of 592 contracts from the total net of -409,331 contracts reported the previous week.
Free Reports:
USO Crude Oil ETF:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the USO Crude Oil ETF, which tracks the price of WTI crude oil, closed at approximately $11.45 which was a change of $-0.13 from the previous close of $11.58, according to market data from Yahoo Finance.
*COT Report: The COT data, released weekly to the public each Friday, is updated through the previous 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
