New York (HedgeCoVest.Com) The latest Commitment of Traders reports from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) show that large speculators (mostly hedge funds and CTAs) became more bullish toward metals in the past week’s reporting period.

Looking at the reports for gold, platinum and silver, and all three saw movement toward a more bullish stance. Interestingly though, they all three arrived at a more bullish stance in different ways.
For gold, the net long position jumped from 77,440 contracts to 122,621 contracts and that is the biggest net long position since late February for gold. The net position changed sharply as short positions were cut by over 22,000 contracts and more than 23,000 contracts were added on the long side of the equation.

The net long position for silver jumped from 29,338 contracts to 51,280 contracts, but it was mostly due to a decline in short positions. The number of contracts shorted dropped by 19,000 contracts while the contracts added on the long side only went up by 3,000. Regardless, the net long position is the highest since January 27.

Platinum also hit its biggest net long position since January 27, but it didn’t go through huge changes on either side of the long/short equation. The number of contracts long increased by less than 250 contracts while the number of contracts sold short declined by 4,000 contracts. The net long position moved from 25,083 to 29,659 as a result.

With geopolitical tensions increasing, especially with regard to ISIS, hedge funds may be taking precautions by becoming more bullish toward the metals.

Rick Pendergraft
Research Analyst
HedgeCoVest