Month: December 2013

By CountingPips.com

Large Speculator bullish bets increased to $18.92 billion last week

The latest data for the weekly Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday, showed that large futures traders and speculators slightly increased their bullish bets of the US dollar last week for the first time in a month.

Non-commercial large futures traders, including hedge funds and large International Monetary Market speculators, had an overall US dollar long position totaling $18.92 billion as of Tuesday December 24th, according to Reuters. This was a weekly change of +$0.60 billion from the total $18.32 billion bullish position that was recorded on December 17th, according to the calculations from Reuters (total of US dollar contracts against the combined contracts of the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc).

Large non-commercial positions had fallen for the previous three weeks after reaching a nearly three-month high on November 26th when US dollar bullish bets equaled $20.39 billion.

Individual Currencies – Large Speculators Positions in Futures:

The non-commercial net positions for each of the individual currencies directly against the US dollar showed weekly increases for the euro, Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Mexican peso while there were weekly declines for the British pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc and the Australian dollar. See charts & data below.

Individual Currency Charts:

EuroFX:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: EuroFX

British Pound Sterling:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: Pound Sterling

Japanese Yen:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: Yen

Swiss Franc:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: Franc

Canadian Dollar:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: CAD

Australian Dollar:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: AUD

New Zealand Dollar:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: NZD

Mexican Peso:

Last Six Weeks of Large Trader Positions: MXN

*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).

The Commitment of Traders report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions data that was reported as of the previous Tuesday (3 days behind).

Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and a net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar.

(The graphs overlay the forex spot closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.)

See more information and explanation on the weekly COT report from the CFTC website.

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By CountingPips.com

Weekly CFTC Net Speculator Report

10 Year Treasuries: Large speculators and futures market traders decreased their overall bearish positions in the 10-year treasury note futures by the most since the beginning of October, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday.

The non-commercial futures contracts of the 10-year treasury notes, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -105,768 contracts in the data reported for December 24th. This was a change of +49,441 contracts from the previous week’s total of -155,209 net contracts that was recorded on December 17th. The +49,441 change was the largest weekly gain in positions since October 1st when 10-Year bets registered a weekly change of +60,571 contracts and now overall net positions are at the least bearish level since October 15th when net positions totaled -99,788 contracts.

Over the same reporting time-frame, from Tuesday December 17th to Tuesday December 24th, the yield on the 10-Year treasury note increased from 2.85 to a yield of 2.99, according to data from the United States Treasury Department.

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Non-Commercial Positions

*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 – Forex Trading News & Analysis

By CountingPips.com

Weekly CFTC Net Speculator Report

VIX Futures Contracts: Large traders and speculators decreased their overall bearish positions in the VIX futures market for a second consecutive week on December 24th, according to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released on Monday. The VIX non-commercial contracts, traded primarily by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -38,125 contracts in the data reported for December 24th. This was a change of +24,512 contracts from the previous week’s total of -62,637 net contracts on December 17th. Speculators have now reduced bearish positions for a second straight week after raising their bearish bets the previous six weeks through December 10th.

Meanwhile, over the same time-frame, the VIX index decreased from 16.21 on Tuesday December 17th to 12.48 on Tuesday December 24th, according to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index.

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

*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 – Forex News & Analysis

An explosion kills former finance minister Mohamad Chatah and at least five others in Beirut. President Obama signs bipartisan budget deal. GM and its Chinese partner SAIC issue massive car recall. Photo: AP

A massive car bomb exploded in Beirut near an upmarket hotel, killing Mohamad Chatah, a former finance minister and adviser to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Maria Abi-Habib joins the News Hub. Photo: AP.

Former Lebanese finance minister Mohammad Shatah was killed along with four others when a booby trapped car exploded in Beirut on Friday. Around 15 people were injured in the blast. He was on his way to former prime minister Saad Hariri’s residence to attend a meeting for an opposition conclave early next year. Shatah had also served as adviser to former prime minister Fouad Saniora

Zillow Inc. chief Spencer Rascoff on lessons learned at Goldman Sachs and why he passed on an M.B.A.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell for a second week and hit a 13-year low as mortgage rates rose due to a bond market sell-off following the Federal Reserve’s decision to pare its bond purchase stimulus in January. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 6.3 percent to the lowest level since December 2000.

The judge overseeing Detroit’s historic bankruptcy case on Monday named a committee to represent interests of the unsecured creditors as the city prepares to submit a plan to the court to readjust its debt. “Its primary power… is to have a stronger voice than an individual creditor, while actively participating in the negotiation of a plan for the adjustment of the debtor’s financial obligations,” said a December 6 letter sent to all prospective committee members by the U.S.

2013.12.23 13:30 6:30AM ET | EURUSD Currency Pair

Here are the Pivot Points Levels with Support (S) and Resistance (R) for the EURUSD currency pair today. Price action is currently trading over the daily pivot point at the 1.36819 price level, according to data at 6:30 AM ET. The EURUSD high for the day has been 1.36944 while the low of day reached to 1.36665. The pair earlier today opened the Asian trading session slightly above the daily pivot and has trended modestly higher over the course of the day.

Daily Pivot Point: 1.36675
— S1 – 1.36266
— S2 – 1.35838
— S3 – 1.35429
— R1 – 1.37103
— R2 – 1.37512
— R3 – 1.37940

Weekly Pivot Points: EURUSD

Prices are currently trading under the weekly pivot point (1.3701) at time of writing after opening this week below the weekly pivot.

Weekly Pivot Point: 1.37016
— S1 – 1.35925
— S2 – 1.35154
— S3 – 1.34063
— R1 – 1.37787
— R2 – 1.38878
— R3 – 1.39649

By CountingPips.com – Forex Trading Apps & Currency Trade Tools

Disclaimer: Foreign Currency trading and trading on margin carries a high level of risk and volatility and can result in loss of part or all of your investment. All information and opinions contained do not constitute investment advice and accuracy of prices, charts, calculations cannot be guaranteed.