According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended March 3, NET LENGTH for crude oil futures plunged -43 097 contracts to 388 369 for the week. Speculative long positions added +5 106 contracts while shorts jumped -48 203 contracts. NET LENGTH for crude oil futures will decline further in the coming week. Indeed, the rapid transmission of coronavirus all over the globe has intensified concerns about global recession. Yet, OPEC+ failed to reach an agreement to cut output further despite expected decline in demand. This sent the front-month WTI crude oil contract to the lowest level since 2016. For refined oil products, NET LENGTH for gasoline declined -18 772 contracts to 92 939, while heating oil‘s NET SHORT slipped -1 333 contracts to 26 304. NET SHORT for natural gas futures dropped -1 960 contracts to 231 867 contracts for the week.
Gold price corrected in the reporting week on profit-taking, sending NET LENGTH lower, by -16 132 contracts, to 319 733. Safe-haven demand is expected to continue to support the yellow metal, though. Silver futures’ NET LENGTH plummeted -26 490 contracts to 48 303. Speculative long positions fell -24 920 contracts while shorts added +1 570. For PGMs, NET LENGTH of Nymex platinum futures declined -16 164 contracts to 34 037 while that for palladium dipped -818 contracts to 2 996.
