Hedge funds increased bearish bets on Natural Gas futures by 37,238 contracts as of July 23, according to CFTC Commitment of Traders report on Friday.

The Commodity Futures Commission's weekly Commitment of Traders gives a snapshot view of how Leveraged Funds and Managed Money is positioned in US Futures and commodity markets. These are typically hedge funds, CTAs, CPOs and various types of money managers.

Commitment of Traders gives a snapshot view of how Leveraged Funds and Managed Money are positioned in US Futures and commodity markets. These are typically hedge funds, CTAs, CPOs and various types of money managers. 

Gold market futures large speculators increased their positions to nearly 4:1 on the long side by adding 120k new long positions.

There ’s a picture taking shape in the macroeconomic world that can be seen in the correlated actions of the most significant traders in the currency, interest rate, stock and precious metal markets. We’ll deliver the data and the markets. You can draw your conclusions as to how it all plays out amid a trade war backdrop.

A look at long-term trends of commercial interest in the CFTC’s “Commitments of Traders” report.

A look at long-term trends of commercial interest in the CFTC’s “Commitments of Traders” report.

A look at long-term trends of commercial interest in the CFTC’s “Commitments of Traders” report.

Crude oil and coffee set commercial trader net position records in November. WTI crude oil set records in both net and total position sizes. The WTI market has remained under $60 per barrel since November of 2015. May of 2016 saw the Baker Hughes rig count bottom at 318. There were nearly 1,500 rigs up and running in Q4 of 2015 when oil prices began falling precipitously. Currently, about 750 rigs are operating. This metric has been steady since early May of 2017.