According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended August 28, NET LENGTH for crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures rose, in tandem with higher prices. Speculative long positions of crude oil futures gained +12 322 contracts, while shorts climbed +794 contracts higher, resulting in an increase in NET LENGTH, by +11 528 contracts, to 550 313 contracts. For refined oil products, Net LENGTH for heating oil futures added +3 797 contracts to 39 107, while that for gasoline gained +3 171 contracts to 107 130. Net SHORT for natural gas climbed higher, by +4 604 contracts, to 66 269 contracts for the week. Oil price’s outlook in the coming week is mixed. While US inventory declined more than expected, the number of oil rigs gained for the first time in three weeks. Meanwhile, it’s reported that OPEC raised its output, by +0.22M bpd, between July and August, to a 2018-high of 32.79M bpd.
On the precious metal complex, gold and silver futures stayed in NET SHORTS for a third consecutive week. NET SHORT for for the former dropped -5 647 contracts to 3 063, while that for the latter jumped, by +9 440 contracts, to 16 598. For PGMs, NET SHORT of platinum slid -16 contracts to 10 976 while NET LENGTH for palladium soared +2 902 contracts to 3 884.
