VIX Futures Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators reduced their bullish 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 17,589 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday May 8th. This was a weekly decline of -3,373 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 20,962 net contracts.
Speculative positions have declined for four consecutive weeks following a run up to a record high level on April 10th. The overall bullish position remains at the lowest level since the speculative positions turned 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 -13,488 contracts on the week. This was a weekly boost of 3,791 contracts from the total net of -17,279 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 14.71 which was a fall of -0.78 from the previous close of 15.49, according to unofficial market data.