According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended June 18, NET LENGTH for crude oil futures rose +24 140 contracts to 363 087 for the week. Speculative long positions fell -12 708 contracts but shorts declined by a sharper -24 140 contracts. Escalated tensions between US and Iran have drove away the bears. Yet, the bulls need more confirmation to bet for higher prices. We expect NET LENGTH to rise further in the coming week. For refined oil products, NET LENGTH for gasoline added +830 contracts to 73 124, while NET SHORT for heating oil dropped -5 754Â contracts to 18 302 for the week. NET SHORT for natural gas futures rose +10 351 contracts to 137 299 contracts for the week.
Precious metals soared last week, lifting NET LENGTH of gold and silver futures. The trend should likely continue in the coming week as the market continued to price in at least two Fed funds rate cuts this year after the FOMC meeting. NET LENGTH for gold futures rose +20 085 contracts to 204 323 last week. Speculative long positions surged +24 519 contracts, while shorts added +4 434. For silver futures, speculative long positions jumped +8 050 contracts while shorts dropped -3 806. NET LENGTH for silver futures was lifted to 14 516 contracts, up +11 856 from a week ago. For PGMs, NET LENGTH of Nymex platinum futures dropped -4 982 contracts to 1 970 while that for palladium increased +670 contracts to 10 205.
