By CountingPips.com | Weekly Large Trader COT Report: Gold & Silver

Gold speculative positions increased last week while Silver speculative positions fell

GOLD Non-Commercial Positions:

Gold speculator and large futures traders slightly edged their gold bullish positions higher last week as positions have risen now for three consecutive weeks, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.

The non-commercial futures contracts of Comex gold futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of +190,400 contracts in the data reported through April 5th. This was a weekly change of +594 contracts from the previous week’s total of +189,806 net contracts that was registered on March 29th.

The rise in the weekly net speculator positions (+594 net contracts) was due to a gain in the weekly bullish positions by 1,699 contracts that just outpaced an increase in the weekly bearish positions by 1,105 contracts.

Gold Commercial Positions:

In the commercial positions for gold on the week, the commercials (hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes) edged their overall bearish positions lower to a net total position of -207,245 contracts through April 5th. This was a weekly change of +719 contracts from the total net position of -207,964 contracts on March 29th.

GLD ETF:

Over the weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday March 29th to Tuesday April 5th, the price of the (GLD) Gold ETF, which tracks the gold spot price, fell from approximately $118.76 to $117.66, according to ETF price data of the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD).

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Weekly Large Trader COT Report: Silver

Silver Non-Commercial Positions:

Silver speculators and large futures traders reduced their existing bullish positions lower last week for a second straight week, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.

The non-commercial futures contracts of Comex silver futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of +52,011 contracts in the data reported through April 5th. This was a weekly change of -2,496 contracts from the previous week’s total of +54,507 net contracts that was registered on March 29th.

The fall in the net speculator positions was due to a rise in the weekly bullish positions by 449 contracts that was overtaken by the gain in weekly bearish positions of 2,945 contracts to total the weekly net change of -2,496 contracts.

Silver Commercial Positions:

The commercial traders positions, categorized as hedgers or traders engaged in buying and selling for business purposes, reduced their bearish positions last week to a net total position of -59,665 contracts through April 5th. This is a weekly change of +8,439 contracts from the total net of -68,104 contracts on March 29th.

Silver ETF:

Over the weekly reporting time-frame, from Tuesday March 29th to Tuesday April 5th, the SLV ishares ETF, which tracks the price of silver, edged lower from approximately $14.60 to $14.42, according to ETF market data from Yahoo Finance.

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

*COT Report: The weekly commitment of traders report summarizes the total trader positions for open contracts in the futures trading markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators). Find CFTC criteria here: (http://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/CommitmentsofTraders/ExplanatoryNotes/index.htm).

Article by CountingPips.com