Precious metals were mixed last week. According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended February 16, gold futures’ NET LENGTH slumped -16 438 contracts to 234 969 while silver futures’ NET LENGTH added +281 contracts to 49 824. For PGMs, NET LENGTH of Nymex platinum futures gained +377 contracts to 36 577 while that for palladium added +284 contracts to 1 021. Net length in platinum futures should increase further in the coming week with price surging to the highest level in over 6 years. Its recent strength has been led by the industrial demand, rather than safe-demand for precious metals. A report by Johnson Matthey, specialist in PGM research, has projected that platinum will stay in deficit for a third straight year in 2021.
NET LENGTH for crude oil futures added +455 contracts to 514 713 for the week. Speculative long position gained +2 253 contracts, while shorts added +1 798 contracts. For refined oil products, NET LENGTH for gasoline plunged -8 185 contracts to 61 483, while heating oil’s NET LENGTH increased +983 contracts to 15 678. NET LENGTH for natural gas futures rose +2 625 contracts to 38 775.
