WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators raised their bullish net positions in the WTI Crude Oil futures markets this week after falling in the previous two weeks, 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 560,883 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday June 23rd. This was a weekly gain of 14,611 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 546,272 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) growing by 4,774 contracts (to a weekly total of 711,257 contracts) while the gross bearish position (shorts) dropped by -9,837 contracts for the week (to a total of 150,374 contracts).
Crude Oil speculative bets rebounded this week after falling in the previous two weeks and in three out of the previous four weeks. Overall, crude oil speculators have continued to be very bullish in the face of price volatility and an unprecedented drop into negative price territory in April. The bullish position has steadily gained from a total of +387,397 contracts on March 10th to a total of +560,883 contracts this week. Bullish net positions have now continued to stay above the +500,000 contract level for eleven straight weeks, the highest streak since 2018.
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 -595,878 contracts on the week. This was a weekly fall of -15,569 contracts from the total net of -580,309 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 $40.37 which was a gain of $1.99 from the previous close of $38.38, according to unofficial market data.