InvestMacro

Japanese yen strengthens unexpectedly against US dollar

By RoboForex Analytical Department

The USD/JPY pair unexpectedly declined last night due to a weakening US dollar. Currently, it is hovering around 156.33.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki highlighted the government’s recent interventions to support the yen, significantly impacting the market. Official data reveals that throughout April, Japan spent approximately 9.79 trillion yen (62.2 billion USD) on efforts to stabilise the national currency.

Suzuki pointed out that the interventions aimed to mitigate excessive fluctuations in the currency market. He affirmed that Japan would continue to monitor the forex market and act against disorderly movements vigilantly, expressing satisfaction with the effects of these measures. This marks the first time the Japanese authorities have acknowledged their market interventions conducted in late April and early May.

The yen’s strengthening is also bolstered by the recent depreciation of the US dollar, driven by market anticipations of a potential earlier rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. As expectations grow for softened US monetary policy, the dollar has declined, boosting other currencies, including the yen.

USD/JPY technical analysis

On the H4 chart, USD/JPY completed a correction wave, reaching 157.70. A new wave of decline aiming for 153.77 is forming. Once this target is reached, a potential correction to 155.44 (testing from below) may follow, preceding a further decline towards 149.70. The bearish outlook is technically supported by the MACD indicator, with its signal line below zero and pointing sharply downwards.

On the H1 chart, the correction phase to 157.47 has concluded, and a downward impulse towards 155.44 is underway. Following this, a correction to 156.45 (testing from below) could occur, potentially leading to a further drop to 155.22, the primary target. This scenario is technically confirmed by the Stochastic oscillator, whose signal line is positioned above 80 and is anticipated to drop to 20.

Summary

The yen’s unexpected strengthening reflects a complex interplay of domestic interventions and broader market reactions to shifts in US monetary policy. Given the ongoing adjustments in global economic expectations and central bank policies, investors and traders should closely monitor these developments, as further fluctuations in the USD/JPY pair are likely.

Disclaimer

Any forecasts contained herein are based on the author’s particular opinion. This analysis may not be treated as trading advice. RoboForex bears no responsibility for trading results based on trading recommendations and reviews contained herein.

Financial News Forex and Currency News

04 Jun

Oil prices decreased for the 5th consecutive session. AI companies support the NASDAQ index

By JustMarkets

At Monday’s close, the Dow Jones Index (US30) was down 0.30%, while the S&P 500 Index (US500) added 0.11%. The NASDAQ Technology Index (US100) closed positive 0.56% yesterday. The general market’s gains were limited as economic concerns pressured stocks after activity in the US manufacturing sector unexpectedly declined last month. In addition, energy stocks came under pressure after WTI crude oil prices fell more than 3% to a 3-month low. However, the strengthening of technology stocks helped the sector’s growth. Nvidia (NVDA), for example, closed up more than 4% and led chip stocks higher after the company announced at the Computex conference in Taiwan a new generation of artificial intelligence chips by 2025 and a next-generation platform under development called Rubin by 2026.

Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari’s comments were hawkish. They supported the dollar when he said the Fed will likely hold interest rates for an “extended period” until new economic data convinces policymakers that inflation is declining. Markets estimate the odds of a 25 bps rate cut at 1% at the June 11-12 FOMC meeting, 15% at the next meeting on July 30-31, and 51% at the next September 17-18 meeting.

Equity markets in Europe mostly went up yesterday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.60%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed higher by 0.06%, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) added 0.66%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed negative 0.15% on Monday.

European equity markets opened lower on Tuesday, following a global decline among global peers as disappointing US industrial production data weighed on market sentiment. Investors are also cautiously awaiting the European Central Bank’s decision this week, which is expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, markets will see if last week’s Eurozone inflation data will influence the ECB’s decision.

On Monday, silver (XAGUSD) gained support on strengthening manufacturing activity in China after the May Caixin PMI rose by 0.3 to 51.7, the highest reading in 23 months and a positive for industrial metals demand.

WTI crude oil prices fell below $74 a barrel on Tuesday, dropping for the fifth consecutive session to the lowest level in four months amid concerns that global supply could increase later this year. OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to extend most supply cuts through 2025 but opened the door for voluntary cuts by eight member countries to be phased out starting in October. More than 500,000 barrels a day are expected to return to the market by December, and 1.8 million barrels a day by June 2025.

Asian markets were predominantly up yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) gained 1.13% over yesterday, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) climbed 0.55%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) rose by 1.79%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) was positive 0.77%.

On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (AU200) fell 0.05% to below 7,760, interrupting two days of gains. This was helped by losses in mining and energy stocks amid lower commodity prices. Investors are also awaiting Australian GDP data this week to gauge the current state of the economy and potential implications for domestic monetary policy.

S&P 500 (US500) 5,283.40 +5.89 (+0.11%)

Dow Jones (US30) 38,571.03 −115.29 (−0.30%)

DAX (DE40) 18,608.16 +110.22 (+0.60%)

FTSE 100 (UK100) 8,262.75 −12.63 (−0.15%)

USD Index 104.11 −0.56 (−0.54%)

Important events today:

– Switzerland Consumer Price Index (m/m) at 09:30 (GMT+3);
– German Unemployment Rate (m/m) at 10:55 (GMT+3);
– US JOLTs Job Openings (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+3).

By JustMarkets

This article reflects a personal opinion and should not be interpreted as an investment advice, and/or offer, and/or a persistent request for carrying out financial transactions, and/or a guarantee, and/or a forecast of future events.

Economics & Fundamentals Financial News

03 Jun

Alibaba’s (BABA) Secret Weapon for Future Growth

By The Ino.com Team

Amid challenging regulatory pressures, economic headwinds, and fierce market competition, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) has showcased a resilient performance, as evidenced by its latest quarterly results. Shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant have gained more than 7% over the past three months. Moreover, the stock is trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $76.20 and $78.79, respectively, reflecting a solid momentum.

Alibaba’s diverse business portfolio continues to be a driving force behind its steady financial performance. For the fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2024, BABA’s revenue increased 7% year-over-year to $30.73 billion, beating the analysts’ estimate of $30.42 billion. The growth was driven by robust performances across its core e-commerce and cloud computing segments.

BABA’s strategic investments in Alibaba Cloud infrastructure and its domestic and international e-commerce platforms have spurred double-digit growth in key metrics such as gross merchandise value (GMV). Yet, the company’s income from operations dipped 3% from the prior-year quarter to $2.05 billion.

Navigating through cautious consumer spending in China, Alibaba has observed early signs of recovery in its primary e-commerce operations. Revenue from the Taobao and Tmall Group increased 4% year-over-year to $12.91 billion, while customer management revenue grew 5%, rebounding from a previously flat quarter. Also, revenue from the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC) surged 45% year-over-year to $3.80 billion.

BABA’s CEO Eddie Wu’s commitment to ‘reignite’ growth through further investments is beginning to yield results, as he noted the strategies were “working and we are returning to growth.”

But What’s Behind This Robust Growth?

Alibaba’s secret weapon lies in its digital technology and intelligence arm, Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group, which stood as the company’s second-largest revenue generator last year. Revenue from this segment rose 3% year-over-year to $3.54 billion, driven by the double-digit growth of its public cloud business. Core offerings like elastic computing, databases, and AI products led to a notable triple-digit growth in AI-related revenue in the fourth quarter alone. This surge in demand for advanced AI solutions positions the company to capitalize on the burgeoning AI market.

To foster long-term growth and attract startups and small businesses, Alibaba aggressively slashed prices on over 100 core public cloud products (including Elastic Compute Service (ECS), Object Storage Service, and database product categories) in China. This initiative was later extended globally in April with a 23% average price reduction. Customers ordering through Alibaba’s official website can now enjoy discounts of up to 59% on computing, storage, network, database, and big data products.

“Cloud infrastructure is poised to be the key cornerstone for the future of AI, and our commitment lies in making sure that the foundation for AI development remains affordable,” said Selina Yuan, President of the International Business of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Moreover, Alibaba Cloud’s AI capabilities have rapidly gained traction, with over 90,000 enterprises adopting the Qwen large language model (LLM) within a year of its debut and more than 7 million downloads on open-source platforms like Github. Alibaba Cloud introduced Qwen2.5, the latest addition to its Qwen model family, to meet the growing demand for AI solutions.

Furthermore, Alibaba Cloud recently launched a service to help companies customize and scale generative AI models, from consolidating multiple models to optimizing underlying infrastructure resources. The PAI-Lingjun Intelligent Computing Service, an AI computing platform tailored for high-performance computing tasks, also expanded its reach to Singapore for the first time this year.

Also, the group’s strategic focus on public cloud and operational efficiency resulted in an impressive 49% year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA to $848 million in fiscal year 2024. Such growth figures solidify Alibaba Cloud’s role as a crucial driver of the company’s future growth.

Is Price Cuts a Strategic Initiative or a Race to the Bottom?

Alibaba’s recent move to reduce prices across its cloud services has stirred the market. Some say it’s a smart move to attract more customers (especially with the growing demand for AI services), while others fear it could hurt profits in the long run.

With enterprises’ expenditure on generative AI services expected to reach $143 billion in 2027 globally, the timing of BABA’s price adjustments appears strategic, positioning the company to tap into this growing market.

Meanwhile, BABA’s price cuts have sparked a price war among Chinese tech giants, with Baidu Cloud and ByteDance quickly following suit with their competitive offerings. While these cuts benefit consumers, Alibaba’s footing in the global marketplace is tenuous. Despite holding over 30% of China’s Infrastructure as a Service market, Alibaba still trails behind AWS in the broader Asia Pacific region. Alibaba Cloud commands only a small fraction of the global cloud computing market, where AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud dominate the landscape.

Making headway against these industry giants is not easy, especially considering their strong foothold in Western markets. While the price cuts may attract budget-conscious customers and bolster Alibaba’s presence in emerging markets, success hinges on maintaining high-quality service and innovation in the long run. Only time will tell if Alibaba’s gamble pays off.

Bottom Line

BABA reported a beat in revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024; however, the e-commerce giant’s earnings plunged. Despite a weak bottom line, CFO Toby Xu expressed confidence in the company’s business outlook, citing early positive results from strategic investments and partnerships. Alibaba sees AI as a significant driver of innovation and value creation within its ecosystem.

During the March quarter, AI-related revenue delivered “triple-digit growth year-over-year.” The revenue was generated from foundational model companies and internet companies, as well as customers from the financial services and automotive industries.

Analysts expect BABA’s revenue for the first quarter (ending June 2024) to increase 5.1% year-over-year to $34.10 billion. However, its EPS for the ongoing quarter is expected to decline by 15.6% year-over-year to $2.03. Further, for the fiscal year 2025, Alibaba’s revenue is forecasted to reach $140.92 billion (up 8.3% year-over-year), while the consensus EPS estimate of $8.23 indicates a 4.4% decline from the prior year.

In terms of forward non-GAAP P/E, BABA is trading at 9.61x, 39.5% lower than the industry average of 15.88x. Similarly, the stock’s forward EV/EBITDA and Price/Book multiples of 5.94 and 1.31 are 39% and 45.3% lower than the industry averages of 9.73 and 2.40, respectively.

In response to its low valuation, Alibaba’s management repurchased $4.8 billion worth of shares during the fourth quarter. Moreover, earlier this year, the company bolstered its share buyback program by an additional $25 billion, extending it through the end of March 2027.

In further demonstrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders, BABA approved a two-part dividend plan totaling $4 billion. This plan includes a regular cash dividend of $0.125 per ordinary share or $1 per ADS in FY24 and a one-time extraordinary cash dividend of $0.0825 per ordinary share or $0.66 per ADS. Both dividends will be paid out in U.S. dollars to holders of ordinary shares and ADS holders as of the close of business on June 13, 2024.

While the impact of price reductions on Alibaba’s bottom line remains to be seen, achieving double-digit revenue growth across its specific segments amid strategic pricing adjustments underscores the company’s resilience and adaptability in an ever-evolving market landscape.

By Ino.com – See our Trader Blog, INO TV Free & Market Analysis Alerts

Source: Alibaba’s (BABA) Secret Weapon for Future Growth

Opinions Stock Market News

03 Jun

OPEC+ extending key oil production cuts

By JustMarkets

On Friday, the Dow Jones (US30) Index gained 1.51% (for the week -1.03%), while the S&P 500 (US500) Index was up by 0.80% (for the week -0.07%). The NASDAQ Technology Index (US100) closed negative 0.01% (for the week -0.31%). Stocks rallied sharply in the last 20 minutes of the session on Friday, reversing losses seen earlier in the day. The volatility arose partly due to the last trading day of the month and the rebalancing of some stock indexes.

On Friday, the US equity indices received support from a 4.6 bps decline in 10-year T-note yields on the back of the expected US PCE deflator, which kept hopes alive for a Fed interest rate cut later this year. The April PCE deflator report of 0.3% m/m and 2.7% y/y was unchanged from March and in line with market expectations. The April report on core PCE deflator 0.2% m/m and 2.8% y/y also matched market expectations. The nominal and real PCE deflators are still well above the Fed’s 2% inflation target, but these measures are at least near or at 3-year lows. The PCE deflator is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.

Dell Technologies (DELL) fell 17.87% after reporting earnings that were below expectations and undermined high hopes for the company’s artificial intelligence server products.

Equity markets in Europe were mostly up on Friday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.01% (for the week -1.10%), France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed up 0.18% (for the week -1.18%), Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) fell by 0.14% (for the week +0.55%), and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed positive 0.54% (for the week -0.77%).

Eurozone government bond yields rose on Friday amid a disappointing Eurozone CPI report. The preliminary Eurozone CPI for May rose to 2.6% y/y from 2.4% in April and was slightly stronger than market expectations of 2.5%. Eurozone preliminary core CPI for May rose to 2.9% y/y from 2.7% in April and was stronger than market expectations of 2.7%. After this week’s meeting, Friday’s CPI report dampened expectations of a further ECB rate cut. Swaps estimate the probability of a 25 bps ECB rate cut at the next meeting on June 6 at 96%. If the ECB cuts rates by 25 bps this week as expected, markets expect a 0% probability of another rate cut at the next meeting on July 18 and a 50% probability of a rate cut at the September 12 meeting.

OPEC+ has extended production cuts in an attempt to support a fragile market and has also set a date for oil production to resume later this year. This includes a voluntary production cut of 3.66 million bpd expiring at the end of 2024 and extending another round of cuts of 2.2 million bpd through the end of the third quarter of this year. Meanwhile, eight OPEC+ countries have said they plan to phase out additional cuts of 2.2 million bpd annually from October 2024 to September 2025.

Asian markets were mostly up last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) was down 0.72% for the week, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) decreased by 0.89% for the week, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) lost 2.83% for the week, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) was positive 0.96%.

The offshore yuan fell to 7.263 per dollar, primarily due to seasonal demand for foreign currency, which puts downward pressure on the exchange rate. Such demand usually occurs between May and August, when Chinese companies listed overseas must buy foreign currencies to pay dividends to their shareholders abroad, forcing them to sell yuan.

The Caixin China Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.7 in May 2024 from 51.4 in April, beating forecasts of 51.5. It was the seventh straight month of growth in factory activity and the fastest pace since June 2022, as output rose by the most in 23 months amid a rise in new orders.

Indonesia’s annual inflation rate for May 2024 eased to 2.84% from 3.0% in April, beating market expectations of 2.94%. It was the lowest since February and remained within the central bank’s target range of 1.5% to 3.5% as food prices rose the least since January (6.18% vs. 7.04% in April).

The S&P Global Vietnam Manufacturing PMI stood at 50.3 in May 2024, unchanged from the previous month. This marked the second consecutive month of increased activity at enterprises because of strong growth in new orders and accelerating output growth. Foreign sales increased, albeit to a lesser extent than total new orders. Although employment declined for the second consecutive month, work in progress remained stable, and purchasing activity picked up again as demand for products increased.

S&P 500 (US500) 5,277.51 +42.03 (+0.80%)

Dow Jones (US30) 38,686.32 +574.84 (+1.51%)

DAX (DE40) 18,497.94 +1.15 (+0.01%)

FTSE 100 (UK100) 8,275.38 +44.33 (+0.54%)

USD Index 104.63 −0.09 (−0.09%)

Important events today:

– Australia Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 02:00 (GMT+3);
– Japan Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 03:30 (GMT+3);
– Caixin China Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 04:45 (GMT+3);
– Switzerland Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 10:30 (GMT+3);
– German Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 10:55 (GMT+3);
– Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+3);
– UK Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+3);
– US ISM Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+3).

By JustMarkets

Economics & Fundamentals Financial News

03 Jun

Trade of the Week: USDInd seeks fresh directional catalyst

By ForexTime

USDInd ends May ↓1.7%

ECB meeting & NFP in focus

Over past year ECB triggered moves of 0.6% ↑ or ↓

Trapped in D1 range since mid-May

Technical levels – 105.20 and 104.20

After bouncing within a 1000-point range since mid-May, FXTM’s USDInd is on breakout watch!

A high-risk cocktail featuring the European Central Bank (ECB) and US jobs report could rock the index this week.

Note: FXTM’s USDInd tracks the US Dollar Index. This measures how the dollar performs against a basket of six different G10 currencies, including the Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen, and Canadian dollar.

Interestingly, the dollar depreciated against every single G10 currency in May.

Three heavy-hitting events in May knocked the dollar.

Starting from the dovish Fed meeting, soft US April jobs report, and cooler-than-expected CPI print. Last Friday, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – core PCE also printed below market forecasts, keeping the doors open for lower interest rates in 2024.

With all the above said, here are 3 reasons why the USDInd could see significant moves this week:

1) ECB rate decision

The ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its meeting on Thursday, June 6th.

So, the focus will be on the press conference for fresh insight into what to expect in H2, especially after Germany and Eurozone inflation edged up in May.

Note: The Euro accounts for almost 60% of the US Dollar Index weighting. A weaker euro tends to push the index higher and vice versa.

As of writing, traders are pricing in a 90% probability of a second 25-basis point cut by October with the odds of a third cut by the end of 2024 around 40%.

The USDInd could push higher if the ECB strikes a dovish tone, and signals further cuts down the road.

Should the central bank sound more hawkish and signal a “one and done” rate cut for 2024, this may send the USDInd lower.

Fun fact: Over the past 12 months, the ECB rate decision has sparked upside moves as much as 0.6% or declines of 0.6% in the 6 hours post-release.

2) US May NFP report

This major economic release is likely to influence expectations around when the Fed cuts rates in 2024.

Markets expect the US economy to have created 190k jobs in May, compared to the 175k in the previous month while the unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 3.9%.

Traders are currently pricing in a 60% probability of a 25-basis point cut by September with this jumping to over 90% by November.

A soft jobs report that boosts Fed cut bets may send the USDInd lower.

If the jobs data prints above market forecasts, this may push the USDInd higher.

Fun fact: Over the past 12 months, the US jobs report has trigged up moves as much as 0.4% or declines of 0.6% in the 6 hours after release.

3) Technical forces

Prices remain in a range on the daily charts with support at 104.20 and resistance at 105.20.

A sold breakout above 105.20 may signal a move towards 105.60.

Should prices slip below 104.20, bears may be encouraged to target 103.90.

Article by ForexTime

ForexTime Ltd (FXTM) is an award winning international online forex broker regulated by CySEC 185/12 www.forextime.com

Financial News Forex and Currency News

02 Jun

GBP and Euro Speculator bets rise for multiple weeks

By InvestMacro

Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 28th and shows a quick view of how large market participants (for-profit speculators and commercial traders) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the euro will decline versus the dollar.

Weekly Speculator Changes led by British Pound & EuroFX

The COT currency market speculator bets were higher this week as nine out of the eleven currency markets we cover had higher positioning while the other two markets had lower speculator contracts.

Leading the gains for the currency markets was the British Pound (24,349 contracts), the EuroFX (16,097 contracts), the Australian Dollar (6,317 contracts), Canadian Dollar (4,239 contracts), New Zealand Dollar (3,416 contracts), Mexican Peso (3,027 contracts), the Brazilian Real (1,076 contracts), the US Dollar Index (656 contracts) and with Bitcoin (134 contracts) also having a positive week.

The currencies seeing declines in speculator bets on the week were the Japanese Yen (-11,672 contracts) and the Swiss Franc (-3,721 contracts).

GBP and Euro Speculator bets rise for multiple weeks

To start this week’s COT currency roundup, the Euro positions have continued to improve after the speculator contracts dropped into a bearish position in late-April. This was the first time since September of 2022 that Euro bets had fallen into negative territory. Since then, the Euro speculative bets have risen for five straight weeks and by a total of +67,561 contracts in that period. Euro bets, currently at +57,572 contracts, have now climbed back to the best level in the past eleven weeks, dating back to March 12th. The EURUSD exchange rate still has some work to do as it remains below the 1.10 major resistance area.

The British pound sterling speculator contracts rose again this week and has jumped by over +20,000 contracts for the second consecutive week. Overall, the GBP bet have now improved for four straight weeks with a gain of +54,392 contracts in the past four weeks. The speculator standing has now come out of a four-week bearish position (April 23rd to May 14th) and is at the highest level since April. The GBPUSD exchange rate has recently hit its highest level since March and is trading around 1.2600 currently. On a trade-weighted basis, Reuters notes that the GBP is near the highest since Brexit.

The Australian dollar speculator bets rose this week for a second consecutive week and have now improved in eight out of the past ten weeks. The AUD position has gained a total of +57,622 contracts over the past ten weeks and has brought the level from a record bearish position of -107,538 contracts on March 19th to a total of -49,916 contracts this week. The current standing is the least bearish level in the past nineteen weeks, dating back to January 16th.

The US dollar index positions increased slightly again this week and have now risen for eight consecutive weeks. The speculator standing had fallen into a bearish position from March 26th to April 30th before coming back over to a bullish level in these past four weeks. That bearish level had marked the first time the USD index bets had been negative since 2021.

The New Zealand dollar speculator position gained for a second straight week and came out of a bearish level into a bullish position this week. The NZD bets had been bearish or negative for the past ten weeks with a recent bearish high of -12,047 contracts taking place on April 23rd. The NZD positioning has been on a rollercoaster of ups and (mostly) downs since 2021 while the NZDUSD exchange had been on the defensive over that time. However, the exchange rate for the NZD versus the USD has started to see higher lows on the weekly charts and is challenging the downward sloping trendline that started in 2021 – pointing to a possible breakout scenerio.

Currencies Net Speculators Leaderboard

Legend: Weekly Speculators Change | Speculators Current Net Position | Speculators Strength Score compared to last 3-Years (0-100 range)

Strength Scores led by Mexican Peso & British Pound

COT Strength Scores (a normalized measure of Speculator positions over a 3-Year range, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is Extreme-Bullish and below 20 is Extreme-Bearish) showed that the Mexican Peso (91 percent) and the British Pound (70 percent) lead the currency markets this week. The New Zealand Dollar (66 percent), Australian Dollar (59 percent) and the Bitcoin (55 percent) come in as the next highest in the weekly strength scores.

On the downside, the Swiss Franc (0 percent), the Brazilian Real (2 percent), the Canadian Dollar (3 percent), the US Dollar Index (14 percent) and the Japanese Yen (14.9 percent) come in at the lowest strength levels currently and are in Extreme-Bearish territory (below 20 percent).

Strength Statistics:
US Dollar Index (13.7 percent) vs US Dollar Index previous week (12.3 percent)
EuroFX (44.8 percent) vs EuroFX previous week (38.0 percent)
British Pound Sterling (70.1 percent) vs British Pound Sterling previous week (54.0 percent)
Japanese Yen (14.9 percent) vs Japanese Yen previous week (22.2 percent)
Swiss Franc (0.0 percent) vs Swiss Franc previous week (6.4 percent)
Canadian Dollar (3.1 percent) vs Canadian Dollar previous week (0.0 percent)
Australian Dollar (58.7 percent) vs Australian Dollar previous week (52.3 percent)
New Zealand Dollar (66.2 percent) vs New Zealand Dollar previous week (56.5 percent)
Mexican Peso (90.8 percent) vs Mexican Peso previous week (89.3 percent)
Brazilian Real (1.9 percent) vs Brazilian Real previous week (0.7 percent)
Bitcoin (55.0 percent) vs Bitcoin previous week (53.0 percent)

Australian Dollar & New Zealand Dollar top the 6-Week Strength Trends

COT Strength Score Trends (or move index, calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) showed that the Australian Dollar (52 percent) and the New Zealand Dollar (39 percent) lead the past six weeks trends for the currencies. The EuroFX (19 percent), the US Dollar Index (11 percent) and the British Pound (11 percent) are the next highest positive movers in the latest trends data.

The Brazilian Real (-42 percent) leads the downside trend scores currently with the Swiss Franc (-14 percent), Bitcoin (-6 percent) and the Mexican Peso (-3 percent) following next with lower trend scores.

Strength Trend Statistics:
US Dollar Index (10.8 percent) vs US Dollar Index previous week (9.8 percent)
EuroFX (19.3 percent) vs EuroFX previous week (3.7 percent)
British Pound Sterling (11.1 percent) vs British Pound Sterling previous week (-18.0 percent)
Japanese Yen (6.0 percent) vs Japanese Yen previous week (11.1 percent)
Swiss Franc (-14.1 percent) vs Swiss Franc previous week (-15.3 percent)
Canadian Dollar (-2.8 percent) vs Canadian Dollar previous week (-27.4 percent)
Australian Dollar (52.2 percent) vs Australian Dollar previous week (36.8 percent)
New Zealand Dollar (39.1 percent) vs New Zealand Dollar previous week (34.6 percent)
Mexican Peso (-3.3 percent) vs Mexican Peso previous week (-10.7 percent)
Brazilian Real (-42.2 percent) vs Brazilian Real previous week (-39.5 percent)
Bitcoin (-5.9 percent) vs Bitcoin previous week (-11.1 percent)

Individual COT Forex Markets:

US Dollar Index Futures:

The US Dollar Index large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 4,174 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 656 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 3,518 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 13.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 89.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 25.9 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

US DOLLAR INDEX Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	70.6	17.5	9.0
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	60.2	31.1	5.9
– Net Position:	4,174	-5,436	1,262
– Gross Longs:	28,325	7,026	3,621
– Gross Shorts:	24,151	12,462	2,359
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.2 to 1	0.6 to 1	1.5 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	13.7	89.2	25.9
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	10.8	-8.7	-11.4

Euro Currency Futures:

The Euro Currency large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 57,572 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 16,097 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 41,475 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.8 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 57.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 22.4 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

EURO Currency Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	27.8	57.2	12.0
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	19.1	69.9	7.9
– Net Position:	57,572	-84,652	27,080
– Gross Longs:	184,656	380,224	79,849
– Gross Shorts:	127,084	464,876	52,769
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.5 to 1	0.8 to 1	1.5 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	44.8	57.5	22.4
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	19.3	-21.0	17.1

British Pound Sterling Futures:

The British Pound Sterling large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 25,402 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 24,349 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 1,053 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 70.1 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 27.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 76.4 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

BRITISH POUND Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	34.6	43.9	12.5
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	25.2	55.9	10.0
– Net Position:	25,402	-32,173	6,771
– Gross Longs:	93,041	118,109	33,632
– Gross Shorts:	67,639	150,282	26,861
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.4 to 1	0.8 to 1	1.3 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	70.1	27.7	76.4
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	11.1	-19.7	38.6

Japanese Yen Futures:

The Japanese Yen large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -156,039 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -11,672 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -144,367 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 92.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 50.9 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

JAPANESE YEN Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	8.8	75.9	13.0
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	56.8	24.8	16.1
– Net Position:	-156,039	166,122	-10,083
– Gross Longs:	28,565	246,911	42,324
– Gross Shorts:	184,604	80,789	52,407
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.2 to 1	3.1 to 1	0.8 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	14.9	92.0	50.9
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	6.0	-1.0	-25.0

Swiss Franc Futures:

The Swiss Franc large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -44,366 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lowering of -3,721 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -40,645 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 99.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

SWISS FRANC Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	8.9	80.7	9.5
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	53.1	23.0	23.0
– Net Position:	-44,366	57,936	-13,570
– Gross Longs:	8,943	80,998	9,553
– Gross Shorts:	53,309	23,062	23,123
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.2 to 1	3.5 to 1	0.4 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	0.0	99.5	15.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-14.1	7.5	14.4

Canadian Dollar Futures:

The Canadian Dollar large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -86,585 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 4,239 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -90,824 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 3.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 99.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.4 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

CANADIAN DOLLAR Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	14.1	71.8	11.1
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	46.9	37.6	12.5
– Net Position:	-86,585	90,353	-3,768
– Gross Longs:	37,299	189,745	29,401
– Gross Shorts:	123,884	99,392	33,169
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.3 to 1	1.9 to 1	0.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	3.1	99.1	15.4
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-2.8	-0.7	11.8

Australian Dollar Futures:

The Australian Dollar large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -49,916 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 6,317 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -56,233 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 58.7 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 44.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 60.1 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: New Buy – Long Position.

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	27.8	57.9	12.6
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	53.6	32.5	12.3
– Net Position:	-49,916	49,360	556
– Gross Longs:	53,892	112,209	24,416
– Gross Shorts:	103,808	62,849	23,860
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.5 to 1	1.8 to 1	1.0 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	58.7	44.0	60.1
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	52.2	-55.0	43.1

New Zealand Dollar Futures:

The New Zealand Dollar large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 2,046 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 3,416 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,370 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 66.2 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 36.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 50.7 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	46.8	43.5	6.4
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	43.2	46.6	6.9
– Net Position:	2,046	-1,779	-267
– Gross Longs:	26,916	25,013	3,687
– Gross Shorts:	24,870	26,792	3,954
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.1 to 1	0.9 to 1	0.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	66.2	36.3	50.7
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	39.1	-39.9	33.2

Mexican Peso Futures:

The Mexican Peso large speculator standing this week reached a net position of 120,919 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 3,027 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 117,892 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 35.3 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

MEXICAN PESO Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	56.5	39.8	2.7
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	11.4	86.3	1.2
– Net Position:	120,919	-124,698	3,779
– Gross Longs:	151,468	106,742	7,111
– Gross Shorts:	30,549	231,440	3,332
– Long to Short Ratio:	5.0 to 1	0.5 to 1	2.1 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	90.8	9.4	35.3
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-3.3	3.5	-3.9

Brazilian Real Futures:

The Brazilian Real large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -36,582 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 1,076 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -37,658 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 1.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 99.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 27.7 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

BRAZIL REAL Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	9.2	79.1	2.9
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	57.8	29.6	3.9
– Net Position:	-36,582	37,302	-720
– Gross Longs:	6,940	59,601	2,182
– Gross Shorts:	43,522	22,299	2,902
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.2 to 1	2.7 to 1	0.8 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	1.9	99.0	27.7
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-42.2	42.8	-13.3

Bitcoin Futures:

The Bitcoin large speculator standing this week reached a net position of -756 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 134 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -890 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 55.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 60.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 33.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

BITCOIN Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	75.2	4.0	5.8
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	77.7	4.5	2.8
– Net Position:	-756	-148	904
– Gross Longs:	22,761	1,214	1,763
– Gross Shorts:	23,517	1,362	859
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.0 to 1	0.9 to 1	2.1 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	55.0	60.9	33.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bullish	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-5.9	4.2	5.2

Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Newsletter

*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) 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) as well as their open interest (contracts open in the market at time of reporting). See CFTC criteria here.

COT Updates Forex and Currency News Opinions

02 Jun

COT Soft Commodities Charts: Speculator bets led by Soybean Meal & Soybeans

By InvestMacro

Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) reports data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 28th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets.

Weekly Speculator Changes led by Soybean Meal & Soybeans

The COT soft commodities markets speculator bets were higher this week as seven out of the eleven softs markets we cover had higher positioning while the other four markets had lower speculator contracts.

Leading the gains for the softs markets was Soybean Meal (25,247 contracts) with Soybeans (19,074 contracts), Live Cattle (10,199 contracts), Soybean Oil (8,014 contracts), Cotton (7,870 contracts), Cocoa (3,679 contracts) and Coffee (3,647 contracts) also showing positive weeks.

The markets with the declines in speculator bets this week were Corn (-9,805 contracts), Lean Hogs (-9,200 contracts), Sugar (-3,316 contracts) and with Wheat (-1,871 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week.

Soft Commodities Net Speculators Leaderboard

Legend: Weekly Speculators Change | Speculators Current Net Position | Speculators Strength Score compared to last 3-Years (0-100 range)

Strength Scores led by Coffee & Soybean Meal

COT Strength Scores (a normalized measure of Speculator positions over a 3-Year range, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is Extreme-Bullish and below 20 is Extreme-Bearish) showed that Coffee (87 percent) and Soybean Meal (74 percent) lead the softs markets this week. Wheat (58 percent) comes in as the next highest in the weekly strength scores.

On the downside, Sugar (0 percent), Cotton (14 percent) and Soybean Oil (17 percent) come in at the lowest strength levels currently and are in Extreme-Bearish territory (below 20 percent).

Strength Statistics:
Corn (27.3 percent) vs Corn previous week (28.6 percent)
Sugar (0.0 percent) vs Sugar previous week (1.1 percent)
Coffee (87.3 percent) vs Coffee previous week (83.8 percent)
Soybeans (40.4 percent) vs Soybeans previous week (35.9 percent)
Soybean Oil (17.2 percent) vs Soybean Oil previous week (12.3 percent)
Soybean Meal (74.4 percent) vs Soybean Meal previous week (64.0 percent)
Live Cattle (44.6 percent) vs Live Cattle previous week (33.6 percent)
Lean Hogs (40.9 percent) vs Lean Hogs previous week (48.5 percent)
Cotton (14.5 percent) vs Cotton previous week (8.6 percent)
Cocoa (43.2 percent) vs Cocoa previous week (39.4 percent)
Wheat (57.5 percent) vs Wheat previous week (58.8 percent)

Soybean Meal & Soybeans top the 6-Week Strength Trends

COT Strength Score Trends (or move index, calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) showed that Soybean Meal (52 percent) and Soybeans (34 percent) lead the past six weeks trends for soft commodities. Wheat (34 percent), Corn (20 percent) and Live Cattle (19 percent) are the next highest positive movers in the latest trends data.

Lean Hogs (-35 percent) leads the downside trend scores currently with Cotton (-34 percent), Sugar (-19 percent) and Coffee (-13 percent) following next with lower trend scores.

Strength Trend Statistics:
Corn (19.5 percent) vs Corn previous week (18.9 percent)
Sugar (-19.3 percent) vs Sugar previous week (-32.7 percent)
Coffee (-12.7 percent) vs Coffee previous week (-13.8 percent)
Soybeans (34.4 percent) vs Soybeans previous week (26.8 percent)
Soybean Oil (3.8 percent) vs Soybean Oil previous week (-15.7 percent)
Soybean Meal (52.2 percent) vs Soybean Meal previous week (45.7 percent)
Live Cattle (19.2 percent) vs Live Cattle previous week (1.8 percent)
Lean Hogs (-35.2 percent) vs Lean Hogs previous week (-24.1 percent)
Cotton (-33.6 percent) vs Cotton previous week (-54.8 percent)
Cocoa (-1.3 percent) vs Cocoa previous week (-6.1 percent)
Wheat (33.7 percent) vs Wheat previous week (27.7 percent)

Individual Soft Commodities Markets:

CORN Futures:

The CORN large speculator standing this week was a net position of -51,632 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -9,805 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -41,827 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 27.3 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 74.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 55.4 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

CORN Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	21.9	42.2	9.2
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	25.3	36.3	11.7
– Net Position:	-51,632	90,934	-39,302
– Gross Longs:	337,903	650,550	141,411
– Gross Shorts:	389,535	559,616	180,713
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.9 to 1	1.2 to 1	0.8 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	27.3	74.6	55.4
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	19.5	-16.4	-39.8

SUGAR Futures:

The SUGAR large speculator standing this week was a net position of 5,105 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decrease of -3,316 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 8,421 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 2.2 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

SUGAR Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	23.2	53.5	7.3
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	22.7	52.6	8.8
– Net Position:	5,105	8,283	-13,388
– Gross Longs:	203,331	468,232	63,624
– Gross Shorts:	198,226	459,949	77,012
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.0 to 1	1.0 to 1	0.8 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	0.0	100.0	2.2
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-19.3	16.0	-1.4

COFFEE Futures:

The COFFEE large speculator standing this week was a net position of 63,033 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 3,647 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 59,386 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 87.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 12.1 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 65.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

COFFEE Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	34.7	35.0	4.0
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	7.7	63.4	2.6
– Net Position:	63,033	-66,372	3,339
– Gross Longs:	81,146	81,873	9,381
– Gross Shorts:	18,113	148,245	6,042
– Long to Short Ratio:	4.5 to 1	0.6 to 1	1.6 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	87.3	12.1	65.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-12.7	12.1	8.6

SOYBEANS Futures:

The SOYBEANS large speculator standing this week was a net position of -25,908 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 19,074 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -44,982 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.4 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 62.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.2 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

SOYBEANS Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	16.1	57.2	6.8
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	19.4	51.7	9.2
– Net Position:	-25,908	44,728	-18,820
– Gross Longs:	129,688	459,817	54,827
– Gross Shorts:	155,596	415,089	73,647
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.8 to 1	1.1 to 1	0.7 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	40.4	62.2	62.2
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	34.4	-31.4	-28.2

SOYBEAN OIL Futures:

The SOYBEAN OIL large speculator standing this week was a net position of -28,264 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 8,014 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -36,278 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 17.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 81.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 41.2 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

SOYBEAN OIL Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	20.2	53.9	5.7
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	25.2	50.1	4.5
– Net Position:	-28,264	21,264	7,000
– Gross Longs:	112,590	300,740	31,971
– Gross Shorts:	140,854	279,476	24,971
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.8 to 1	1.1 to 1	1.3 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	17.2	81.3	41.2
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	3.8	-6.6	22.4

SOYBEAN MEAL Futures:

The SOYBEAN MEAL large speculator standing this week was a net position of 114,521 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 25,247 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 89,274 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 74.4 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 22.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 69.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

SOYBEAN MEAL Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	35.2	35.8	10.7
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	11.1	65.2	5.4
– Net Position:	114,521	-139,803	25,282
– Gross Longs:	167,296	170,310	50,943
– Gross Shorts:	52,775	310,113	25,661
– Long to Short Ratio:	3.2 to 1	0.5 to 1	2.0 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	74.4	22.3	69.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	52.2	-54.5	45.6

LIVE CATTLE Futures:

The LIVE CATTLE large speculator standing this week was a net position of 60,855 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 10,199 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 50,656 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 44.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 61.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 30.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

LIVE CATTLE Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	40.8	32.8	9.2
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	20.0	49.8	13.0
– Net Position:	60,855	-49,742	-11,113
– Gross Longs:	119,356	95,952	26,865
– Gross Shorts:	58,501	145,694	37,978
– Long to Short Ratio:	2.0 to 1	0.7 to 1	0.7 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	44.6	61.9	30.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	19.2	-16.8	-21.7

LEAN HOGS Futures:

The LEAN HOGS large speculator standing this week was a net position of 13,662 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -9,200 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 22,862 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 40.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 60.4 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 63.8 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

LEAN HOGS Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	29.8	39.3	7.8
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	24.8	42.7	9.4
– Net Position:	13,662	-9,301	-4,361
– Gross Longs:	81,944	108,350	21,540
– Gross Shorts:	68,282	117,651	25,901
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.2 to 1	0.9 to 1	0.8 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	40.9	60.4	63.8
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-35.2	36.2	12.9

COTTON Futures:

The COTTON large speculator standing this week was a net position of 7,678 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 7,870 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -192 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 14.5 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 84.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.8 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

COTTON Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	30.7	44.8	5.4
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	27.4	48.4	5.2
– Net Position:	7,678	-8,136	458
– Gross Longs:	70,382	102,573	12,272
– Gross Shorts:	62,704	110,709	11,814
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.1 to 1	0.9 to 1	1.0 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	14.5	84.8	18.8
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-33.6	32.4	-19.1

COCOA Futures:

The COCOA large speculator standing this week was a net position of 32,570 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 3,679 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 28,891 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 43.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 53.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 62.1 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

COCOA Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	31.7	34.6	7.5
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	10.4	59.7	3.7
– Net Position:	32,570	-38,425	5,855
– Gross Longs:	48,416	52,941	11,504
– Gross Shorts:	15,846	91,366	5,649
– Long to Short Ratio:	3.1 to 1	0.6 to 1	2.0 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	43.2	53.5	62.1
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-1.3	2.1	-6.8

WHEAT Futures:

The WHEAT large speculator standing this week was a net position of -14,393 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -1,871 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -12,522 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 57.5 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 42.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 36.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

WHEAT Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	29.8	36.1	7.6
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	33.2	31.1	9.2
– Net Position:	-14,393	21,208	-6,815
– Gross Longs:	127,585	154,247	32,381
– Gross Shorts:	141,978	133,039	39,196
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.9 to 1	1.2 to 1	0.8 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	57.5	42.5	36.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	33.7	-30.0	-35.3

Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Newsletter

COT Updates Financial News Soft Commodities

02 Jun

COT Metals Charts: Weekly Speculator Changes led by Gold

By InvestMacro

Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 28th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial entities) were positioned in the futures markets.

Weekly Speculator Changes led by Gold

The COT metals markets speculator bets were lower this week as just one out of the six metals markets we cover had higher positioning while the other five markets had lower speculator contracts.

Leading the gains for the metals was Gold with a total rise of 6,779 contracts for the week.

The markets with declines in speculator bets for the week were Copper (-6,172 contracts), Silver (-2,461 contracts), Palladium (-655 contracts), Steel (-314 contracts) and Platinum (-82 contracts) also registering lower bets on the week.

Metals Net Speculators Leaderboard

Legend: Weekly Speculators Change | Speculators Current Net Position | Speculators Strength Score compared to last 3-Years (0-100 range)

Strength Scores led by Silver & Copper

COT Strength Scores (a normalized measure of Speculator positions over a 3-Year range, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is Extreme-Bullish and below 20 is Extreme-Bearish) showed that Silver (97 percent), Copper (94 percent), Platinum (92 percent), Gold (83 percent) and Steel (80 percent) lead the metals markets this week and are all in Extreme-Bullish territory.

On the downside, Palladium (15 percent) comes in at the lowest strength level currently and is in Extreme-Bearish territory (below 20 percent).

Strength Statistics:
Gold (83.0 percent) vs Gold previous week (79.9 percent)
Silver (96.6 percent) vs Silver previous week (100.0 percent)
Copper (94.3 percent) vs Copper previous week (100.0 percent)
Platinum (91.6 percent) vs Platinum previous week (91.8 percent)
Palladium (15.2 percent) vs Palladium previous week (19.3 percent)
Steel (79.8 percent) vs Palladium previous week (81.0 percent)

Platinum & Copper top the 6-Week Strength Trends

COT Strength Score Trends (or move index, calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) showed that Platinum (25 percent) and Copper (17 percent) lead the past six weeks trends for metals. Gold (16 percent) is the next highest positive mover in the latest trends data.

Palladium (-13 percent) leads the downside trend scores currently with Steel (-6 percent) as the next market with lower trend scores.

Move Statistics:
Gold (15.6 percent) vs Gold previous week (12.3 percent)
Silver (5.3 percent) vs Silver previous week (8.9 percent)
Copper (16.7 percent) vs Copper previous week (27.0 percent)
Platinum (24.9 percent) vs Platinum previous week (23.1 percent)
Palladium (-12.8 percent) vs Palladium previous week (-10.4 percent)
Steel (-6.1 percent) vs Steel previous week (-10.5 percent)

Individual Markets:

Gold Comex Futures:

The Gold Comex Futures large speculator standing this week was a net position of 236,585 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 6,779 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 229,806 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 83.0 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 18.8 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 52.4 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

Gold Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	59.1	22.5	10.6
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	10.3	76.2	5.6
– Net Position:	236,585	-260,950	24,365
– Gross Longs:	286,737	109,181	51,528
– Gross Shorts:	50,152	370,131	27,163
– Long to Short Ratio:	5.7 to 1	0.3 to 1	1.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	83.0	18.8	52.4
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	15.6	-15.6	11.3

Silver Comex Futures:

The Silver Comex Futures large speculator standing this week was a net position of 57,183 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -2,461 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 59,644 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 96.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 2.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

Silver Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	49.6	24.8	19.3
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	18.7	68.7	6.4
– Net Position:	57,183	-81,072	23,889
– Gross Longs:	91,730	45,930	35,705
– Gross Shorts:	34,547	127,002	11,816
– Long to Short Ratio:	2.7 to 1	0.4 to 1	3.0 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	96.6	2.3	100.0
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	5.3	-8.0	18.1

Copper Grade #1 Futures:

The Copper Grade #1 Futures large speculator standing this week was a net position of 65,522 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly decline of -6,172 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 71,694 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 94.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 4.3 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.9 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

Copper Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	51.4	26.7	8.1
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	29.5	52.4	4.3
– Net Position:	65,522	-76,754	11,232
– Gross Longs:	153,739	79,821	24,148
– Gross Shorts:	88,217	156,575	12,916
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.7 to 1	0.5 to 1	1.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	94.3	4.3	90.9
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	16.7	-17.8	17.4

Platinum Futures:

The Platinum Futures large speculator standing this week was a net position of 27,567 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -82 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 27,649 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 91.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 29.8 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Strong Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Strong Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

Platinum Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	62.3	18.9	10.1
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	32.8	53.3	5.2
– Net Position:	27,567	-32,140	4,573
– Gross Longs:	58,272	17,725	9,420
– Gross Shorts:	30,705	49,865	4,847
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.9 to 1	0.4 to 1	1.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	91.6	5.9	29.8
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	24.9	-22.7	-10.8

Palladium Futures:

The Palladium Futures large speculator standing this week was a net position of -11,079 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly fall of -655 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -10,424 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 15.2 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 85.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 65.6 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

Palladium Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	26.5	55.7	8.8
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	73.5	10.4	7.1
– Net Position:	-11,079	10,681	398
– Gross Longs:	6,257	13,139	2,078
– Gross Shorts:	17,336	2,458	1,680
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.4 to 1	5.3 to 1	1.2 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	15.2	85.6	65.6
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-12.8	10.1	23.3

Steel Futures Futures:

The Steel Futures large speculator standing this week was a net position of -4,329 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -314 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -4,015 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 79.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 21.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bearish with a score of 29.0 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

Steel Futures Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	13.2	79.8	1.2
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	28.7	64.2	1.3
– Net Position:	-4,329	4,360	-31
– Gross Longs:	3,719	22,396	344
– Gross Shorts:	8,048	18,036	375
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.5 to 1	1.2 to 1	0.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	79.8	21.2	29.0
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bearish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-6.1	6.5	-10.5

Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Newsletter

COT Updates Financial News Metals

02 Jun

COT Bonds Charts: Speculator bets led by 5-Year Bonds & US Treasury Bonds

By InvestMacro

Here are the latest charts and statistics for the Commitment of Traders (COT) reports data published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The latest COT data is updated through Tuesday May 28th and shows a quick view of how large traders (for-profit speculators and commercial hedgers) were positioned in the futures markets.

Weekly Speculator Changes led by 5-Year Bonds & US Treasury Bonds

The COT bond market speculator bets were higher this week as seven out of the eight bond markets we cover had higher positioning while the other one markets had lower speculator contracts.

Leading the gains for the bond markets was the 5-Year Bonds (45,688 contracts) with the US Treasury Bonds (29,660 contracts), the 2-Year Bonds (13,850 contracts), the 10-Year Bonds (12,797 contracts),the Ultra Treasury Bonds (10,849 contracts), the Fed Funds (9,032 contracts) and with the Ultra 10-Year Bonds (7,379 contracts) also showing a positive week.

The only bond market with a decline in speculator bets was the SOFR 3-Months with a decrease of -49,251 contracts on the week.

Bonds Net Speculators Leaderboard

Legend: Weekly Speculators Change | Speculators Current Net Position | Speculators Strength Score compared to last 3-Years (0-100 range)

Strength Scores led by US Treasury Bonds & Fed Funds

COT Strength Scores (a normalized measure of Speculator positions over a 3-Year range, from 0 to 100 where above 80 is Extreme-Bullish and below 20 is Extreme-Bearish) showed that the US Treasury Bonds (99 percent) and the Fed Funds (82 percent) lead the bond markets this week. The Ultra Treasury Bonds (58 percent) comes in as the next highest in the weekly strength scores.

On the downside, the 5-Year Bonds (6 percent) and the Ultra 10-Year Bonds (10 percent) come in at the lowest strength level currently and are in Extreme-Bearish territory (below 20 percent). The next lowest strength scores were the 2-Year Bonds (32 percent) and the SOFR 3-Months (35 percent).

Strength Statistics:
Fed Funds (82.3 percent) vs Fed Funds previous week (80.4 percent)
2-Year Bond (31.7 percent) vs 2-Year Bond previous week (30.8 percent)
5-Year Bond (5.9 percent) vs 5-Year Bond previous week (2.9 percent)
10-Year Bond (46.8 percent) vs 10-Year Bond previous week (45.6 percent)
Ultra 10-Year Bond (9.6 percent) vs Ultra 10-Year Bond previous week (8.1 percent)
US Treasury Bond (98.8 percent) vs US Treasury Bond previous week (88.4 percent)
Ultra US Treasury Bond (57.6 percent) vs Ultra US Treasury Bond previous week (53.1 percent)
SOFR 3-Months (35.1 percent) vs SOFR 3-Months previous week (37.6 percent)

US Treasury Bonds & Fed Funds top the 6-Week Strength Trends

COT Strength Score Trends (or move index, calculates the 6-week changes in strength scores) showed that the US Treasury Bonds (21 percent) leads the past six weeks trends for bonds. The Fed Funds (1 percent) are the next highest positive mover in the latest trends data.

The SOFR 3-Months (-19 percent), the 5-Year Bonds (-12 percent) and the Ultra Treasury Bonds (-10 percent) lead the downside trend scores currently.

Strength Trend Statistics:
Fed Funds (1.2 percent) vs Fed Funds previous week (18.4 percent)
2-Year Bond (-2.1 percent) vs 2-Year Bond previous week (-3.0 percent)
5-Year Bond (-11.7 percent) vs 5-Year Bond previous week (-11.7 percent)
10-Year Bond (-2.4 percent) vs 10-Year Bond previous week (9.9 percent)
Ultra 10-Year Bond (-3.5 percent) vs Ultra 10-Year Bond previous week (-16.0 percent)
US Treasury Bond (20.8 percent) vs US Treasury Bond previous week (31.1 percent)
Ultra US Treasury Bond (-9.7 percent) vs Ultra US Treasury Bond previous week (-13.8 percent)
SOFR 3-Months (-18.6 percent) vs SOFR 3-Months previous week (-33.4 percent)

Secured Overnight Financing Rate (3-Month) Futures:

The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (3-Month) large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -487,408 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly reduction of -49,251 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -438,157 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 35.1 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 64.9 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 86.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

SOFR 3-Months Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	13.1	60.2	0.3
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	17.6	55.6	0.4
– Net Position:	-487,408	489,903	-2,495
– Gross Longs:	1,397,251	6,434,234	35,655
– Gross Shorts:	1,884,659	5,944,331	38,150
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.7 to 1	1.1 to 1	0.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	35.1	64.9	86.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bullish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-18.6	18.6	0.5

30-Day Federal Funds Futures:

The 30-Day Federal Funds large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 64,283 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly rise of 9,032 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 55,251 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 82.3 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 16.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 88.9 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

30-Day Federal Funds Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	20.1	56.9	2.0
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	16.4	60.5	2.0
– Net Position:	64,283	-63,229	-1,054
– Gross Longs:	350,244	992,025	34,238
– Gross Shorts:	285,961	1,055,254	35,292
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.2 to 1	0.9 to 1	1.0 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	82.3	16.2	88.9
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	1.2	-0.2	-8.7

2-Year Treasury Note Futures:

The 2-Year Treasury Note large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -979,819 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly lift of 13,850 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -993,669 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 31.7 percent. The commercials are Bullish with a score of 63.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 100.0 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

2-Year Treasury Note Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	11.8	76.9	7.7
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	35.5	56.9	4.0
– Net Position:	-979,819	826,543	153,276
– Gross Longs:	488,475	3,175,073	317,155
– Gross Shorts:	1,468,294	2,348,530	163,879
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.3 to 1	1.4 to 1	1.9 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	31.7	63.2	100.0
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bullish	Bullish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-2.1	0.8	8.3

5-Year Treasury Note Futures:

The 5-Year Treasury Note large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -1,377,117 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly boost of 45,688 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -1,422,805 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 5.9 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 97.7 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 78.1 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

5-Year Treasury Note Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	5.9	81.7	7.3
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	26.6	62.1	6.2
– Net Position:	-1,377,117	1,304,941	72,176
– Gross Longs:	390,636	5,430,187	485,314
– Gross Shorts:	1,767,753	4,125,246	413,138
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.2 to 1	1.3 to 1	1.2 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	5.9	97.7	78.1
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-11.7	17.9	-10.5

10-Year Treasury Note Futures:

The 10-Year Treasury Note large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -388,175 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 12,797 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -400,972 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish with a score of 46.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 40.2 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 81.1 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

10-Year Treasury Note Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	10.2	71.8	9.9
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	18.1	64.6	9.2
– Net Position:	-388,175	353,169	35,006
– Gross Longs:	498,320	3,520,410	485,757
– Gross Shorts:	886,495	3,167,241	450,751
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.6 to 1	1.1 to 1	1.1 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	46.8	40.2	81.1
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish	Bearish	Bullish-Extreme
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-2.4	0.4	5.0

Ultra 10-Year Notes Futures:

The Ultra 10-Year Notes large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -230,765 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly advance of 7,379 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -238,144 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bearish-Extreme with a score of 9.6 percent. The commercials are Bullish-Extreme with a score of 90.5 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 66.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Weak Uptrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Weak Uptrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Long Position.

Ultra 10-Year Notes Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	11.3	73.6	9.6
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	21.4	60.0	13.1
– Net Position:	-230,765	310,709	-79,944
– Gross Longs:	257,569	1,680,482	220,053
– Gross Shorts:	488,334	1,369,773	299,997
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.5 to 1	1.2 to 1	0.7 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	9.6	90.5	66.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-3.5	5.2	-2.5

US Treasury Bonds Futures:

The US Treasury Bonds large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of 43,836 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly gain of 29,660 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 14,176 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish-Extreme with a score of 98.8 percent. The commercials are Bearish-Extreme with a score of 0.0 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 70.5 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

US Treasury Bonds Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	16.4	66.8	12.1
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	13.8	71.4	10.1
– Net Position:	43,836	-78,798	34,962
– Gross Longs:	278,502	1,131,701	205,371
– Gross Shorts:	234,666	1,210,499	170,409
– Long to Short Ratio:	1.2 to 1	0.9 to 1	1.2 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	98.8	0.0	70.5
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish-Extreme	Bearish-Extreme	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	20.8	-18.7	-4.4

Ultra US Treasury Bonds Futures:

The Ultra US Treasury Bonds large speculator standing this week came in at a net position of -318,068 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday. This was a weekly increase of 10,849 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -328,917 net contracts.

This week’s current strength score (the trader positioning range over the past three years, measured from 0 to 100) shows the speculators are currently Bullish with a score of 57.6 percent. The commercials are Bearish with a score of 44.6 percent and the small traders (not shown in chart) are Bullish with a score of 50.6 percent.

Price Trend-Following Model: Downtrend

Our weekly trend-following model classifies the current market price position as: Downtrend. The current action for the model is considered to be: Hold – Maintain Short Position.

Ultra US Treasury Bonds Statistics	SPECULATORS	COMMERCIALS	SMALL TRADERS
– Percent of Open Interest Longs:	8.2	74.8	12.6
– Percent of Open Interest Shorts:	25.4	58.4	11.7
– Net Position:	-318,068	302,721	15,347
– Gross Longs:	152,466	1,383,342	232,468
– Gross Shorts:	470,534	1,080,621	217,121
– Long to Short Ratio:	0.3 to 1	1.3 to 1	1.1 to 1
NET POSITION TREND:
– Strength Index Score (3 Year Range Pct):	57.6	44.6	50.6
– Strength Index Reading (3 Year Range):	Bullish	Bearish	Bullish
NET POSITION MOVEMENT INDEX:
– 6-Week Change in Strength Index:	-9.7	4.9	13.2

Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Newsletter

Bonds COT Updates Financial News

02 Jun

Speculator Extremes: US Treasury Bond, Silver lead weekly Bullish Positions

By InvestMacro

The latest update for the weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) report was released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday for data ending on May 28th.

This weekly Extreme Positions report highlights the Most Bullish and Most Bearish Positions for the speculator category. Extreme positioning in these markets can foreshadow strong moves in the underlying market.

To signify an extreme position, we use the Strength Index (also known as the COT Index) of each instrument, a common method of measuring COT data. The Strength Index is simply a comparison of current trader positions against the range of positions over the previous 3 years. We use over 80 percent as extremely bullish and under 20 percent as extremely bearish. (Compare Strength Index scores across all markets in the data table or cot leaders table)

Here Are This Week’s Most Bullish Speculator Positions:

US Treasury Bond

The US Treasury Bond speculator position comes in as the most bullish extreme standing this week. The US Treasury Bond speculator level is currently at a 98.8 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the percent strength score totaled 20.8 this week. The overall net speculator position was a total of 43,836 net contracts this week with a gain of 29,660 contract in the weekly speculator bets.

Speculators or Non-Commercials Notes:

Speculators, classified as non-commercial traders by the CFTC, are made up of large commodity funds, hedge funds and other significant for-profit participants. The Specs are generally regarded as trend-followers in their behavior towards price action – net speculator bets and prices tend to go in the same directions. These traders often look to buy when prices are rising and sell when prices are falling. To illustrate this point, many times speculator contracts can be found at their most extremes (bullish or bearish) when prices are also close to their highest or lowest levels.

These extreme levels can be dangerous for the large speculators as the trade is most crowded, there is less trading ammunition still sitting on the sidelines to push the trend further and prices have moved a significant distance. When the trend becomes exhausted, some speculators take profits while others look to also exit positions when prices fail to continue in the same direction. This process usually plays out over many months to years and can ultimately create a reverse effect where prices start to fall and speculators start a process of selling when prices are falling.

Silver

The Silver speculator position comes next in the extreme standings this week. The Silver speculator level is now at a 96.6 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the percent strength score was 5.3 this week. The speculator position registered 57,183 net contracts this week with a weekly decline of -2,461 contracts in speculator bets.

Copper

The Copper speculator position comes in third this week in the extreme standings. The Copper speculator level resides at a 94.3 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score came in at 16.7 this week. The overall speculator position was 65,522 net contracts this week with a decrease of -6,172 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

Platinum

The Platinum speculator position comes up number four in the extreme standings this week. The Platinum speculator level is at a 91.6 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score totaled a change of 24.9 this week. The overall speculator position was 27,567 net contracts this week with a dip by -82 contracts in the speculator bets.

Mexican Peso

The Mexican Peso speculator position rounds out the top five in this week’s bullish extreme standings. The Mexican Peso speculator level sits at a 90.8 percent score of its 3-year range. The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -3.3 this week.

The speculator position was 120,919 net contracts this week with an increase of 3,027 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

This Week’s Most Bearish Speculator Positions:

Sugar

The Sugar speculator position comes in as the most bearish extreme standing this week. The Sugar speculator level is at a 0.0 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -19.3 this week. The overall speculator position was 5,105 net contracts this week with a reduction by-3,316 contracts in the speculator bets.

Swiss Franc

The Swiss Franc speculator position comes in next for the most bearish extreme standing on the week. The Swiss Franc speculator level is at a 0.0 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -14.1 this week. The speculator position was -44,366 net contracts this week with a decline of -3,721 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

Brazil Real

The Brazil Real speculator position comes in as third most bearish extreme standing of the week. The Brazil Real speculator level resides at a 1.9 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -42.2 this week. The overall speculator position was -36,582 net contracts this week with a rise of 1,076 contracts in the speculator bets.

Canadian Dollar

The Canadian Dollar speculator position comes in as this week’s fourth most bearish extreme standing. The Canadian Dollar speculator level is at a 3.1 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -2.8 this week. The speculator position was -86,585 net contracts this week with a boost of 4,239 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

5-Year Bond

Finally, the 5-Year Bond speculator position comes in as the fifth most bearish extreme standing for this week. The 5-Year Bond speculator level is at a 5.9 percent score of its 3-year range.

The six-week trend for the speculator strength score was -11.7 this week. The speculator position was -1,377,117 net contracts this week with an increase of 45,688 contracts in the weekly speculator bets.

Article By InvestMacro – Receive our weekly COT Newsletter

COT Updates Metals Opinions

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