May11th – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email
VIX Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators sharply decreased their bearish net positions in the VIX 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 VIX futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -150,307 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday May 7th. This was a weekly gain of 30,052 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of -180,359 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) ascending by 2,496 contracts to a weekly total of 92,273 contracts in addition the gross bearish position (shorts) which fell by -27,556 contracts for the week to a total of 242,580 contracts.
The speculative position had been on a very strong bearish run recently. Bearish bets rose for five straight weeks before this week’s sharp turnaround. The VIX spec sentiment reached its most bearish level on record on April 30th with a total of -180,359 contracts. This week’s pullback puts a dent in the short position but overall standing remains remains extremely bearish.
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VIX Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of 153,757 contracts on the week. This was a weekly shortfall of -29,967 contracts from the total net of 183,724 contracts reported the previous week.
VIX Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the VIX Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $17.87 which was a boost of $3.45 from the previous close of $14.42, 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
