VIX Speculators Cut Their Bets Into A New Bearish Position
Zachary Storella | May 20, 2018 02:43AM ET
VIX Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators lowered their net positions in the VIX futures markets for a fifth straight week this week, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.
The non-commercial futures contracts of VIX futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -3,732 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday May 15th. This was a weekly fall of -21,321 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 17,589 net contracts.
Speculative positions have declined by a total of -96,645 contracts over the past five weeks after reaching a record high bullish position on April 10th. This week’s bearish position is the first since market volatility spiked in early February and bets went bullish on February 6th.
VIX Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of 8,514 contracts on the week. This was a weekly uptick of 22,002 contracts from the total net of -13,488 contracts reported the previous week.
VIX:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the VIX, which tracks the volatility of the S&P 500, closed at approximately $14.63 which was a fall of $-0.08 from the previous close of $14.71, according to unofficial market data.
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.