Quarterly Outlook
Macro Outlook: The US rate cut cycle has begun
Peter Garnry
Chief Investment Strategist
Head of Commodity Strategy
Summary: Leveraged funds cut bullish commodity bets by the most since July during the week to October 30. During this time, the dollar strengthened further while global stocks remained under pressure from growth and trade war concerns.
Saxo Bank publishes two weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in commodities, bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial.
To download your copy of the Commitment of Traders: Commodities report for the week ending October 30, click here.
First, the reasons why we focus primarily on the behaviour of leveraged funds:
• They are likely to have tight stops and no underlying exposure that is being hedged.
• This makes them most reactive to changes in fundamental or technical price developments.
• It provides views about major trends but also helps to decipher when a reversal is looming.
Leveraged funds cut bullish commodity bets by the most since July during the week to October 30. During this time, the dollar strengthened further while global stocks remained under pressure from growth and trade war concerns.
The selling was broad-based with 19 out of 26 futures being sold, not least the energy and grains sectors. As a result, the total value of the open interest across these major commodity futures dropped below 1,000 billion for the first time since March.
Sugar and coffee continued to be bought despite some emerging profit-taking in the Brazilian real following last week’s election. The net-long in sugar was the highest since March 2017 while the net-short in coffee reached a 13-month low following a 76% reduction during the past six weeks.
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