WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators dropped their bullish net positions lower in the WTI Crude Oil 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 528,051 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday October 9th. This was a weekly decline of -20,858 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 548,909 net contracts.
The speculative WTI crude position has now fallen for two straight weeks and for four out of the past five weeks. The current standing is at the lowest bullish level since October 31st of 2017 when the net position totaled 502,949 contracts.
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 -568,656 contracts on the week. This was a weekly rise of 14,973 contracts from the total net of -583,629 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 $74.96 which was a drop of $-0.27 from the previous close of $75.23, according to unofficial market data.