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WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators raised their bullish net positions in the WTI Crude Oil 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 WTI Crude Oil futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 715,770 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday March 27th. This was a weekly lift of 12,062 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 703,708 net contracts.
Speculative positions have now gained for a second straight week and remain over the +700,000 net contract level for a second straight week after dipping below that threshold for a couple weeks. The current level is slightly below the record high bullish position of +739,097 contracts that was reached on February 6th.
WTI Crude Oil Commercial Positions:
Free Reports:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of -738,031 contracts on the week. This was a weekly loss of -14,155 contracts from the total net of -723,876 contracts reported the previous week.
USO:
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 $13.08 which was a rise of $0.27 from the previous close of $12.81, 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).
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