WTI Crude Oil Speculators Continue To Push Record Positions Higher
Zachary Storella | Jan 20, 2018 10:01PM ET
WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large speculators increased their bullish bets in the WTI Crude Oil futures markets to a new record high 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 WTI Crude Oil futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 707,787 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday January 16th. This was a weekly gain of 50,197 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 657,590 net contracts.
Speculator bullish bets have made several record highs over the last two months and this week the speculative position broke through the +700,000 net contract barrier for the first time. Spec positions have now gained for seven out of the last ten weeks and bullish bets have jumped by +83,574 contracts in just the past two weeks.
WTI Crude Oil Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of -731,714 contracts on the week. This was a weekly loss of -57,616 contracts from the total net of -674,098 contracts reported the previous week.
USO (NYSE:USO):
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the USO Crude Oil ETF, which tracks the price of WTI crude oil, closed at approximately $12.76 which was a gain of $0.19 from the previous close of $12.57, 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.