Gold Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large precious metals speculators lifted their bullish net positions in the Gold futures markets once 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 Gold futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 266,436 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday, July 21st. This was a weekly gain of 4,008 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of 262,428 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) advancing by 4,032 contracts (to a weekly total of 334,237 contracts) while the gross bearish position (shorts) edged higher by just 24 contracts for the week (to a total of 67,801 contracts).
Gold speculators continued to increase their bullish positions this week for the fifth time in the past six weeks. Bullish bets have risen by a total of +57,823 contracts over that six-week time-frame. The overall current standing for speculators has now been above the +250,000 net contract level for five straight weeks and has remained above the +200,000 contract level for fifty-eight straight weeks, dating back to June of 2019.
Gold Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders' position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of -303,859 contracts on the week. This was a weekly decline of -1,841 contracts from the total net of -302,018 contracts reported the previous week.
Gold Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the Gold Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $1843.90 which was a rise of $30.50 from the previous close of $1813.40, according to unofficial market data.