VIX Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large volatility speculators added to their bearish net positions in the VIX 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 VIX futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of -171,236 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday October 22nd. This was a weekly change of -15,256 net contracts from the previous week which had a total of -155,980 net contracts.
The week’s net position was the result of the gross bullish position (longs) gaining by 4,813 contracts (to a weekly total of 85,338 contracts) while the gross bearish position (shorts) jumped by a larger amount of 20,069 contracts for the week (to a total of 256,574 contracts).
VIX speculators continued to boost their bearish bets for a second straight week and for seventh time in the past eight weeks. The bearish sentiment is now at the highest level in twenty-five weeks which is also the highest standing since the record bearish high of -180,359 on April 30th. Overall, VIX positions have been in negative territory for forty-one weeks dating back to January 8th.
VIX Commercial Positions:
The commercial traders position, hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, totaled a net position of 181,661 contracts on the week. This was a weekly gain of 17,171 contracts from the total net of 164,490 contracts reported the previous week.
VIX Futures:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the VIX Futures (Front Month) closed at approximately $16.47 which was a shortfall of $-0.40 from the previous close of $16.87, according to unofficial market data.