Saturday, April 2, 2022

The heavy hand of dealers and managed money (commitment of traders) in futures trading

The commitment of traders report provides useful information on who are the longs and shorts in futures trading and whether a trade is getting crowded. A quick review over the last three years tells a story on who is driving the markets. The difference in the commitment of traders across markets and through time can be substantial. 

We will highlight three markets to give a taste of the difference and where are the pressure points.

Corn - There is a strong money manager and dealer component to positioning, and it is net long. The flow of money manager money over the last three years is substantial as measured by the percentage of open interest. Producers have increased their net short positions.

Crude oil - This is not as sensitive to money managers and dealer exposures. There is no crowded trade in this market when comparing percentage of open interest over the last three years. 

Stock index - The levered funds have added to their short exposures this week, but their overall percent of open interest is stable at just under 15 percent. 



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