CFTC - Summary, Positioning Charts Report

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 25 Nov saw increasing bullish sentiment as net positioning increased across the major oil futures benchmarks. Total net positioning rose from -118k on 18 Nov to -52k by 25 Nov, the highest level since 16 Oct, with middle distillates leading the way. The product with the most bullish positioning is now ICE gasoil, which surpassed Heating Oil on 18 Nov and rose to -4k by 25 Nov. The lower net positions are shared by RBOB, Brent, and WTI. Overall net positioning has struggled in the second half of this year and has not been positive since mid-July. It remains to be seen if the current increase in bullish positioning can be sustained.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 28 Oct saw a relatively small increase in positioning across the major oil futures benchmarks. Net positioning reached lows of -101k lots on 22 Oct before rising to -806k lots by 28 Oct. The trends were in line with the relatively rangebound flat prices of the futures conctracts, where their 20-day moving averages had generally flattened. Heating Oil currently sees the most bullish positioning at -14k, replacing WTI from the week previous, whilst RBOB gasoline holds the most bearish positioning, at -19.7k lots, replacing gasoil.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 28 Oct saw a relatively small increase in positioning across the major oil futures benchmarks. Net positioning reached lows of -101k lots on 22 Oct before rising to -806k lots by 28 Oct. The trends were in line with the relatively rangebound flat prices of the futures conctracts, where their 20-day moving averages had generally flattened. Heating Oil currently sees the most bullish positioning at -14k, replacing WTI from the week previous, whilst RBOB gasoline holds the most bearish positioning, at -19.7k lots, replacing gasoil.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 28 Oct saw a relatively small increase in positioning across the major oil futures benchmarks. Net positioning reached lows of -101k lots on 22 Oct before rising to -806k lots by 28 Oct. The trends were in line with the relatively rangebound flat prices of the futures conctracts, where their 20-day moving averages had generally flattened. Heating Oil currently sees the most bullish positioning at -14k, replacing WTI from the week previous, whilst RBOB gasoline holds the most bearish positioning, at -19.7k lots, replacing gasoil.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks, employing a trend following model that uses price data and realized volatility. The week ending 08 Oct saw CTA positioning pick up significantly, after remaining relatively flat for the previous week. There was a net increase of nearly 106mb in combined futures between 01 and 07 Oct, with the rate of growth in CTA positioning slightly slowing towards the end of the week. In crude, we saw net positioning in Brent increase from -37.2mb to -10mb, the largest jump in CTA net positioning across all futures contracts for the week to 08 Oct. Meanwhile, WTI showed a similar pattern, increasing from around -32.1mb to just under -9.7mb over the week. The product’s net positioning all recovered after falling the previous week, including RBOB with the lowest net positioning, increasing from -43.4mb up to -24.1mb by 08 Oct.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks, employing a trend following model that uses price data and realized volatility. The week ending 08 Oct saw CTA positioning pick up significantly, after remaining relatively flat for the previous week. There was a net increase of nearly 106mb in combined futures between 01 and 07 Oct, with the rate of growth in CTA positioning slightly slowing towards the end of the week. In crude, we saw net positioning in Brent increase from -37.2mb to -10mb, the largest jump in CTA net positioning across all futures contracts for the week to 08 Oct. Meanwhile, WTI showed a similar pattern, increasing from around -32.1mb to just under -9.7mb over the week. The product’s net positioning all recovered after falling the previous week, including RBOB with the lowest net positioning, increasing from -43.4mb up to -24.1mb by 08 Oct.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 01 Oct saw CTA positioning quite flat in the week, overall seeing a small net increase in the combined futures. Since then, there has been good strength from CTAs, with Brent passing its 50-day average, which likely bouldered their strength. In crude, we saw Brent clock in fall in net positioning, from around -30mb to -37mb on 1 Oct. WTI futures also decreased in the week, from over -25mb on 24 Sep to -33mb on 1 Oct. The largest increase in CTA net positioning in the week to 01 Sep was in ICE Brent. The products’ net positioning all fell weakly, with RBOB seeing RBOB continuing to see the lowest net positioning in tepid market conditions.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 27 Sep saw CTA positioning rise and fall, overall to leave a very small net change. In crude, we saw Brent clock in an almost 0% change increase, w/w, at around -32.8mb after reaching a peak of almost -30mb. WTI futures saw heavier selling as the net positioning fell around 5mb (20%). The largest increase in CTA net positioning in the week to 24 Sep was in ICE Gasoil, which saw an almost 6mb increase, this brought the CTA net positioning for gasoil to the highest in the selected futures.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. The week ending 20 Sep saw CTA positioning rise across the crude futures alongside oil products albeit still remaining very net short. In crude, we saw Brent and WTI futures clock in a 34% and 39% increase, w/w, to -32.9k lots and -24.5k lots, respectively. This support emerged after CTA positioning approached the “max short” levels recorded in both contracts. Oil products also witnessed a rise in CTA net positioning from last week’s extremely short position. In the middle distillates complex, gasoil and heating oil climbed by 29% and 22%, respectively, to -33k lots each. In gasoline, RBOB futures recorded a 20% increase in CTA net length w/w to -37.8k lots.

Onyx’s in-house CTA positioning model determines the net positioning of CTAs in a range of futures benchmarks. This past week saw positioning turn more short across crude oil and refined product futures. CTA positioning in Brent and WTI futures fell by 9.80% and 3.65%, respectively, to around -50k and -40k lots on 16 Sep – testing previous “max short” levels for both contracts. At this level, CTAs are at a prime spot to retrace upwards from this extreme positioning. Similarly, we saw CTA positions in gasoil and heating oil decline by 9.85% and 7.90% w/w to -44k lots and -42k lots on 16 Sep. Finally, RBOB futures saw CTA positioning decline by 9.8% to nearly -50k lots, just shy of the eight-year low of -54.5k lots.