CFTC Commitments: Comex Gold Futures - Aug 15

NAT GAS NYME - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE 
FUTURES ONLY POSITIONS AS OF 08/12/25                         | 
--------------------------------------------------------------| NONREPORTABLE 
      NON-COMMERCIAL      |   COMMERCIAL    |      TOTAL      |   POSITIONS 
--------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------- 
  LONG  | SHORT  |SPREADS |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
(Contracts of 10,000 MMBTU'S)                        OPEN INTEREST:    1,618,091 
COMMITMENTS 
 291,045  388,091  759,118  505,413  428,199  1555576  1575408   62,515   42,683 
 
CHANGES FROM 08/05/25 (CHANGE IN OPEN INTEREST:     10,564) 
  17,941   21,222   -7,008   -8,752  -10,383    2,181    3,831    8,383    6,733 
 
PERCENT OF OPEN INTEREST FOR EACH CATEGORY OF TRADERS 
    18.0     24.0     46.9     31.2     26.5     96.1     97.4      3.9      2.6 
 
NUMBER OF TRADERS IN EACH CATEGORY (TOTAL TRADERS:      352) 
     124      124      174       81       72      315      278 
 
 
HENRY HUB LAST DAY FIN - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE 
FUTURES ONLY POSITIONS AS OF 08/12/25                         | 
--------------------------------------------------------------| NONREPORTABLE 
      NON-COMMERCIAL      |   COMMERCIAL    |      TOTAL      |   POSITIONS 
--------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------- 
  LONG  | SHORT  |SPREADS |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
(Contracts of 10,000 MMBTU'S)                        OPEN INTEREST:      401,872 
COMMITMENTS 
 119,451   76,111   73,447  189,383  243,670  382,281  393,228   19,591    8,644 
 
CHANGES FROM 08/05/25 (CHANGE IN OPEN INTEREST:      3,742) 
   1,102    3,913     -294    2,255      214    3,063    3,833      679      -91 
 
PERCENT OF OPEN INTEREST FOR EACH CATEGORY OF TRADERS 
    29.7     18.9     18.3     47.1     60.6     95.1     97.8      4.9      2.2 
 
NUMBER OF TRADERS IN EACH CATEGORY (TOTAL TRADERS:       91) 
      22       14       31       52       39       89       71 
 
 
HENRY HUB PENULTIMATE FIN - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE 
FUTURES ONLY POSITIONS AS OF 08/12/25                         | 
--------------------------------------------------------------| NONREPORTABLE 
      NON-COMMERCIAL      |   COMMERCIAL    |      TOTAL      |   POSITIONS 
--------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------- 
  LONG  | SHORT  |SPREADS |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
(Contracts of 10,000 MMBTU'S)                        OPEN INTEREST:      265,267 
COMMITMENTS 
  38,036   82,862   46,070  173,083  129,497  257,189  258,429    8,078    6,838 
 
CHANGES FROM 08/05/25 (CHANGE IN OPEN INTEREST:      3,072) 
  -6,497      653    5,522    5,009   -4,150    4,034    2,025     -962    1,047 
 
PERCENT OF OPEN INTEREST FOR EACH CATEGORY OF TRADERS 
    14.3     31.2     17.4     65.2     48.8     97.0     97.4      3.0      2.6 
 
NUMBER OF TRADERS IN EACH CATEGORY (TOTAL TRADERS:       80) 
      24       25       39       28       24       71       69 
 
 
HENRY HUB - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE 
FUTURES ONLY POSITIONS AS OF 08/12/25                         | 
--------------------------------------------------------------| NONREPORTABLE 
      NON-COMMERCIAL      |   COMMERCIAL    |      TOTAL      |   POSITIONS 
--------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------- 
  LONG  | SHORT  |SPREADS |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
(Contracts of 2,500  MMBTU'S)                        OPEN INTEREST:      347,712 
COMMITMENTS 
 216,444   23,135    1,899  112,260  310,814  330,603  335,848   17,109   11,864 
 
CHANGES FROM 08/05/25 (CHANGE IN OPEN INTEREST:      2,383) 
     246      365      -59     -828    2,077     -641    2,383    3,024        0 
 
PERCENT OF OPEN INTEREST FOR EACH CATEGORY OF TRADERS 
    62.2      6.7      0.5     32.3     89.4     95.1     96.6      4.9      3.4 
 
NUMBER OF TRADERS IN EACH CATEGORY (TOTAL TRADERS:       34) 
       5        4        3       21       22       27       28 
 
 
HENRY HUB PENULTIMATE NAT GAS - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE 
FUTURES ONLY POSITIONS AS OF 08/12/25                         | 
--------------------------------------------------------------| NONREPORTABLE 
      NON-COMMERCIAL      |   COMMERCIAL    |      TOTAL      |   POSITIONS 
--------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|----------------- 
  LONG  | SHORT  |SPREADS |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT  |  LONG  | SHORT 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
(Contracts of 2,500  MMBTU'S)                        OPEN INTEREST:      174,889 
COMMITMENTS 
  42,511   59,362   21,441   97,411   85,110  161,363  165,913   13,526    8,976 
 
CHANGES FROM 08/05/25 (CHANGE IN OPEN INTEREST:      4,735) 
     878      156    2,896      975    2,139    4,749    5,191      -14     -456 
 
PERCENT OF OPEN INTEREST FOR EACH CATEGORY OF TRADERS 
    24.3     33.9     12.3     55.7     48.7     92.3     94.9      7.7      5.1 
 
NUMBER OF TRADERS IN EACH CATEGORY (TOTAL TRADERS:       54) 
      14       13       20       25       22       51       43 
 
     Write to Valena Henderson at csstat@dowjones.com 
 

Cotton futures were trading around 66 cents per pound, after the USDA trimmed its estimates for domestic ending stocks and production.

USDA forecasted showed 2025/26 ending stocks at 3.6 million bales, down 1 million from last month, and production cut to 13.2 million bales, below the previous forecast. The USDA's weekly export sales report on Thursday showed exports of 142,600 running bales were primarily to Vietnam, Pakistan, Turkey, Mexico and Bangladesh.

The report also showed net sales of upland cotton totaling 242,000 RB for 2025/2026.

Additionally, oil prices declined as traders awaited talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Lower oil prices make cotton-substitute polyester cheaper for producers.

Front Month ICE Brent Crude for Oct. delivery lost 74 cents per barrel, or 1.11% to $65.85 this week

• Down for two consecutive weeks
• Down $3.82 or 5.48% over the last two weeks
• Largest two week net and percentage decline since the week ending July 4, 2025
• Down four of the past five weeks
• Today it is down 99.00 cents or 1.48%
• Largest one day dollar and percentage decline since Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025
• Down three of the past four sessions
• Off 19.72% from its 52-week high of $82.03 hit Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025
• Up 9.33% from its 52-week low of $60.23 hit Monday, May 5, 2025
• Down 17.36% from 52 weeks ago
• Off 19.72% from its 2025 settlement high of $82.03 hit Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025
• Up 9.33% from its 2025 settlement low of $60.23 hit Monday, May 5, 2025
• Off 54.92% from its record high of $146.08 hit Thursday, July 3, 2008
• Month-to-date it is down 9.21%
• Year-to-date it is down $8.79 or 11.78%

All prices are calculated based on the settlement price of the current front month contract.

Source: Dow Jones Market Data

U.S. natural gas futures settle higher with short-sellers taking profits after yesterday's bounce off support, but little change in the weather outlook. National demand is likely to be strong for the next four days, while the five to 15-day outlook sees some cooling in the Great Lakes and Northeast, NatGasWeather.com says in a note. "A little hotter trends would help the bullish case," the forecaster says, adding that weekend forecasts, "could decide if $3 is again in play on Sep'25 contracts to start next week." Gas for September delivery settles up 2.6% at $2.916/mmBtu, but is down 2.5% on the week. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

Crude futures return most of the previous day's gains as traders remain cautious ahead of the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin about ending the Russia-Ukraine war. "Crude continues trading in a defensive pattern," BOK Financial's Dennis Kissler says in a note. Most traders view the meeting as preliminary, he says, "with no real results coming forth today which means Russian petroleum exports will continue." While a cease-fire announcement would be a near-term negative for oil, the possibility of Trump threatening more tariff pressure against buyers of Russian oil in the event of a stalemate "is keeping a nervous trade to crude." WTI settles down 1.8% at $62.80 a barrel for a 1.7% loss on the week. Brent falls 1.5% to $65.85 a barrel, down 1.1% on the week. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

Brent crude oil futures fell 1.5% to settle at $65.8 per barrel on Friday, booking a 0.5% decline for the week, as traders awaited the outcome of talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with hopes for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine affecting market sentiment.

Expectations of a ceasefire could lead to increased Russian oil production, though easing sanctions would require Congressional approval, making a quick resolution unlikely.

Weaker economic data from China added pressure, with factory output growth hitting an eight-month low and retail sales expanding at the slowest pace since December, despite higher refinery throughput.

Chinese oil product exports also rose, suggesting lower domestic fuel demand.

Growing oil supplies from OPEC+ and the possibility of higher US interest rates contributed to bearish sentiment.

Overall, forecasts point to a market surplus through mid-2026, keeping downward pressure on prices.