Sept. 15, 2018 – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email
WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators cut back on 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 543,845 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday September 11th. This was a weekly reduction of -21,885 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 565,730 net contracts.
The speculative WTI position fell for the first time in three weeks and has decreased for four out of the past six weeks. The spec position, although still remaining very bullish, has steadily declined over the year and has fallen by almost 200,000 contracts since making a record high bullish position on February 6th at a total of 739,097 contracts.
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 -575,809 contracts on the week. This was a weekly increase of 23,718 contracts from the total net of -599,527 contracts reported the previous week.
WTI Crude Oil Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the WTI Crude Oil Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $69.25 which was a decline of $-0.62 from the previous close of $69.87, 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