March 9th – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email
WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators continued to increase 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 latest COT data is now up to date after delays in previous weeks due to the government shutdown.
The non-commercial futures contracts of WTI Crude Oil futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 348,801 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday March 5th. This was a weekly lift of 21,130 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 327,671 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) increasing by 11,421 contracts to a weekly total of 497,656 contracts compared to the gross bearish position (shorts) which saw a decline by -9,709 contracts for the week to a total of 148,855 contracts.
The net speculative position has now climbed for three straight weeks and by a total of 60,587 contracts in that period. The current standing is now at the highest level since November 20th when the net position totaled 367,178 contracts.
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WTI Crude Oil Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of -357,575 contracts on the week. This was a weekly decline of -19,955 contracts from the total net of -337,620 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 $56.56 which was a rise of $1.06 from the previous close of $55.50, 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
