CFTC: Natural Gas Speculators Boost Net Short Position

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - Major non-commercial traders increased their net short position in natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange by 1% during the week ending March 1, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reported Friday.
Speculative or non-commercial traders added 4,759 contracts to their long position in futures contracts and only 7,307 contracts short position, giving a net short position of 259,831 contracts, up from 2.548 the previous week. These merchants have added to their net short position for five consecutive weeks.
The open interest was 982,208, up 2.3% from the previous week.
In futures and options combined, non-commercial traders were net short 222,738 contracts, up 758 a week earlier.
traders were net long futures contracts only 228,910 contracts. These traders added 1. 905 contracts long position and short 3,167 contracts from their short position.
The net long position is the difference between the number of long positions, or bets that prices will rise, and short positions, or bets that prices will fall.
The benchmark futures on the Nymex natural gas rose 0.2% during the week covered by the data from the CFTC.

                 Week Ended        Previous 
                   March 1            Week 
 
NYMEX GAS FUTURES ONLY 
Long 
   Noncommercial   141,913          137,154 
   Commercial      431,574          429,669 
Short 
   Noncommercial   401,744          394,437 
   Commercial      202,664          205,831 
 
NYMEX GAS FUTURES AND OPTIONS COMBINED 
Long 
   Noncommercial   172,537          167,484 
   Commercial      437,545          437,062 
Short 
   Noncommercial   395,275          389,464 
   Commercial      246,709          250,983 

money managers such as hedge funds, increased their net short position in Nymex natural gas futures contracts to 207,410 in the week, up from 18,800 contracts the previous week, after the addition of long-term contracts and short-term contracts.
The CFTC began to divide the big traders into four categories in September 2009. money managers and other reports include the preceding "noncommercial" column, while the exchange dealers and producers, traders, processors and users of the commercial broke.

 
                               Week Ended          Previous 
                                March 1              Week 
NYMEX GAS FUTURES ONLY 
Long 
    Producers/Users               67,198           66,308 
    Swap Dealers                 275,724          272,049 
    Money Managers               105,946          102,366 
    Other Reportables             35,967           34,788 
Short 
    Producers/Users               92,966           91,611 
    Swap Dealers                  21,046           22,908 
    Money Managers               313,359          290,976 
    Other Reportables             88,385          103,461 
 
NYMEX GAS FUTURES AND OPTIONS COMBINED 
Long 
    Producers/Users               71,290           71,201 
    Swap Dealers                 242,494          239,352 
    Money Managers               136,750          132,435 
    Other Reportables             35,787           35,049 
Short 
    Producers/Users               95,689           94,784 
    Swap Dealers                  27,260           29,690 
    Money Managers               311,855          294,052 
    Other Reportables             83,420           95,412 
(Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110304-711369.html)