According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended March 12, NET LENGTH for crude oil futures gained +13 464 contracts to 362 265 for the week. Speculative long positions added +2 513 contracts while shorts slumped -10 951. Crude oil prices strengthened last week. Yet, the outlook remains uncertain as the global economy continues to slow. Meanwhile, the OPEC meeting during the weekend might affect the supply outlook. For refined oil products, NET LENGTH for gasoline added +425 contracts to 84 291, while NET SHORT for heating oil added +399 contracts to 13 169 contracts for the week. NET SHORT for natural gas futures plunged -23 771 contracts to 25 581 contracts for the week. 
On the precious metal complex, NET LENGTH for both gold and silver futures declined last week. For the former, speculative long positions rose +2 622 contracts, while shorts jumped +11 821, resulting in an fall in NET LENGTH, by -9 199 contracts, to 78 819 contracts. For silver futures, speculative long positions dipped -771 contracts while shorts gained +4 668. These resulted in a fall in NET LENGTH, by -5 439 contracts, to 27 082 contracts. For PGMs, NET LENGTH of Nymex platinum futures decreased -5 115 contracts to 16 348 while that for palladium slid -559 contracts to 13 069.
