June 1st – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email
VIX Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators edged their bearish net positions slightly higher 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 -105,827 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday May 28th. This was a weekly change of -507 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of -105,320 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) dipping by -889 contracts (to a weekly total of 80,301 contracts) while the gross bearish position (shorts) fell by -382 contracts for the week (to a total of 186,128 contracts).
The net speculative position barely moved this week after experiencing sharp moves in the prior weeks. On May 7th, VIX speculator bearish bets rose for a fifth straight week to an all-time high at -180,359 contracts. Two weeks of sharp liquidations followed bringing the short position back down to a less extreme level of bearishness. These last two weeks have seen a rebuilding of bearish bets but with declining open interest (less overall contracts in the market) suggests traders are proceeding cautiously.
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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 110,608 contracts on the week. This was a weekly shortfall of -771 contracts from the total net of 111,379 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 $17.37 which was an uptick of $1.10 from the previous close of $16.27, 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
