WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators edged their bullish net positions very slightly higher in the Crude Oil WTI 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 WTI Crude Oil futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 309,608 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday December 18th. This was a weekly gain of 102 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 309,506 net contracts.
This week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position sliding by -1,869 contracts to a weekly total of 502,715 contracts compared to the gross bearish position which saw a decline by -1,971 contracts for the week to a total of 193,107 contracts.
The net speculative position had fallen for eleven straight weeks before this week’s minuscule turnaround. The current standing remains near the lowest bullish levels since November of 2016.
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 -334,285 contracts on the week. This was a weekly loss of -3,333 contracts from the total net of -330,952 contracts reported the previous week.
WTI Crude Oil Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the WTI Crude Oil Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $46.60 which was a decrease of $-5.05 from the previous close of $51.65, according to unofficial market data.