VIX Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators raised their bearish net positions in the VIX 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 VIX futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -52,651 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday, June 2nd. This was a weekly change of -10,022 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of -42,629 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) rising by 9,384 contracts (to a weekly total of 55,525 contracts) but being overcome by the gross bearish position (shorts) which advanced by 19,406 contracts for the week (to a total of 108,176 contracts).
VIX speculators continued to increase their bearish bets for a second straight week and for the fourth time in the past five weeks. The recent gains have upped the overall bearish position over the -50,000 contract level for the first time since March 17th. Despite the gigantic crush of volatility in the markets of the past few months due to the coronavirus, the VIX speculator position never turned bullish on volatility as the least bearish level was made on March 31st with a total of -18,377 contracts.
VIX Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders' position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of 59,484 contracts on the week. This was a weekly advance of 10,534 contracts from the total net of 48,950 contracts reported the previous week.
VIX Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the VIX Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $28.20 which was a fall of $-1.40 from the previous close of $29.60, according to unofficial market data.