Gold Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large precious metals speculators cut back on their bullish net positions in the Gold futures markets 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 Gold futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 237,914 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday, May 26th. This was a weekly decline of -13,874 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 251,788 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) declining by -7,246 contracts (to a weekly total of 288,148 contracts) while the gross bearish position (shorts) rose by 6,628 contracts for the week (to a total of 50,234 contracts).
Gold speculators continued to decrease their bullish bets in the futures market to a 48-week low-point. Bullish bets have fallen in three out of the past four weeks and for the tenth time in the past fourteen weeks. The current level is now at the least bullish level since June 25th of 2019. Despite the weakening speculator sentiment, the gold price has continued to show strength and currently trades at the top of it range above the $1,750 per ounce level (Friday close).
Gold Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders' position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of -274,322 contracts on the week. This was a weekly uptick of 15,852 contracts from the total net of -290,174 contracts reported the previous week.
Gold Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the Gold Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $1705.6 which was a drop of $-40.0 from the previous close of $1745.6, according to unofficial market data.