VIX Futures Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators pushed their bearish net positions higher in the VIX futures markets again 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 -103,506 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday July 31st. This was a weekly fall of -17,345 contracts from the previous week which had a total of -86,161 net contracts.
This was the fourth straight week bearish bets rose and are now higher by a total of -70,287 contracts over that time-frame. The current net standing is at the most bearish position since December 19th of 2017 when the level was -128,583 contracts.
VIX Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of 109,595 contracts on the week. This was a weekly rise of 16,681 contracts from the total net of 92,914 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 $12.83 which was an advance of $0.42 from the previous close of $12.41, according to unofficial market data.