By CountingPips.com
Weekly CFTC Net Speculator Report
VIX Futures Contracts: Large traders and speculators advanced their total net bearish positions in the VIX futures market on January 7th and brought bets to their highest bearish level in three weeks, according to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released on Friday. The VIX non-commercial contracts, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -47,472 contracts in the data reported for January 7th. This was a change of -7,480 contracts from the previous week’s total of -39,992 net contracts that were registered on December 31st. Speculators have added to bearish positions for two straight weeks and contracts are at the most bearish level since December 17th when net contracts stood at -62,637.
Meanwhile, over the same time-frame, the VIX index declined from 14.28 on Tuesday December 31st to 12.92 on Tuesday January 7th, according to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index.
Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions
| Date | Open Interest | Net Non-Commericals | Weekly Change | VIX Score |
| 12/03/2013 | 381272 | -62050 | -2026 | 14.55 |
| 12/10/2013 | 387342 | -73332 | -11282 | 13.91 |
| 12/17/2013 | 378966 | -62637 | 10695 | 16.21 |
| 12/24/2013 | 354273 | -38125 | 24512 | 12.48 |
| 12/31/2013 | 349696 | -39992 | -1867 | 14.28 |
| 01/07/2014 | 359668 | -47472 | -7480 | 12.92 |
*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).
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