February 16, 2019 – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email
WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators rebooted their bullish net positions in the WTI Crude Oil futures markets in January, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.
This latest COT data is from later in January due to the government shutdown which suspended the releases. The CFTC is releasing data on Tuesdays and Fridays going forward until the data is back up to date.
The non-commercial futures contracts of WTI Crude Oil futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 334,859 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday January 22nd. This was a weekly increase of 27,934 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 306,925 net contracts.
This week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) advancing by 2,538 contracts to a weekly total of 500,895 contracts compared to the gross bearish position (shorts) which saw a reduction by -25,396 contracts for the week to a total of 166,036 contracts.
The speculative net position rose for a second straight week by over +27,000 contracts through January 22nd after falling in the previous three weeks. The latest standing of spec positions is back over the +300,000 net contract level for a second straight week after dipping below in the previous two weeks.
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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 -334,993 contracts on the week. This was a weekly shortfall of -25,569 contracts from the total net of -309,424 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 $53.01 which was a rise of $0.90 from the previous close of $52.11, 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
