WTI Crude Oil Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:
Large energy speculators decreased their bullish net positions in theCrude Oil WTI Futures markets this week for the third time out of the last four 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 686,507 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday March 6th. This was a weekly fall of -17,597 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 704,104 net contracts.
Speculative positions have retreated in the past month after racing to a record high of +739,097 contracts on February 6th. The overall standing has now dipped back below the +700,000 net contract level for the second time in the last three weeks.
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 -714,548 contracts on the week. This was a weekly uptick of 15,441 contracts from the total net of -729,989 contracts reported the previous week.
USO ETF:
Over the same weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday to Tuesday, the USO Crude Oil ETF, which tracks the price of WTI crude oil, closed at approximately $12.57 which was a decline of $-0.08 from the previous close of $12.65, according to unofficial market data.