By CountingPips.com | Weekly Large Trader COT Report: WTI Crude Oil
CFTC COT data shows speculator’s oil bets fell for first time in three weeks
WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Positions:
Futures market traders and large oil speculators decreased their overall bullish bets in WTI oil futures last week following two weeks of rising bullish bets, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.
The non-commercial contracts of crude oil futures, traded by large speculators, traders and hedge funds, totaled a net position of +318,544 contracts in the data reported for May 3rd. This was a change of -15,721 contracts from the previous week’s total of +334,265 net contracts for the data reported through April 26th.
For the week, the standing non-commercial long positions in oil futures fell by -14,259 contracts and combined with the short positions that rose by 1,462 contracts to total the overall weekly net change of -15,721 contracts.
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WTI Crude Oil Commercial Positions:
In the commercial positions for oil on the week, the commercials (hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes) decreased their existing bearish positions to a net total position of -315,207 contracts through May 3rd. This is a weekly change of +9,868 contracts from the total net amount of -325,075 contracts on April 26th.
USO Crude Oil ETF:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday April 26th to Tuesday May 3rd, the USO Oil ETF, which tracks the WTI crude oil price, dipped from $10.81 to $10.74, according to ETF data for the USO United States Oil Fund LP ETF.
Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions
| Date | Net Commercial Positions | Weekly Com Changes | Net Large Specs Positions | Weekly Spec Changes |
| 20160329 | -305050 | -8121 | 305511 | -2466 |
| 20160405 | -287827 | 17223 | 290130 | -15381 |
| 20160412 | -279234 | 8593 | 289161 | -969 |
| 20160419 | -325778 | -46544 | 334175 | 45014 |
| 20160426 | -325075 | 703 | 334265 | 90 |
| 20160503 | -315207 | 9868 | 318544 | -15721 |
*COT Report: The weekly commitment of traders report summarizes the total trader positions for open contracts in the futures trading 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
