Crudes bid, RBOB -6.76%; precious firm as soybeans jump 3.6%
Energy breadth was 2 up and 2 down of 5, WTI at 83.68 $/bbl up 1.55% and Brent at 90.58 up 1.98% against RBOB at 2.969 $/gal down 6.76% and natural gas at 2.69 down 2.18%. Precious printed 3 of 3 higher, gold at 4406.33 $/oz up 0.36%, silver 65.84 up 1.91% and platinum 1775.5 up 2.13%. Soybeans rose 3.6% to 12.16 $/bu with oil and meal higher, sugar and cotton advanced, and livestock carried no 1d changes.
close 17 AugCOT report 11 Augbuilt 18 Aug 11:47 UTC
Cross-section
All 23 markets
Market
Last
1d
1w
Net (MM)
z 52w
Energy
WTI Crude Oil
83.68
+1.55%
+1.19%
79,916
+0.76
Brent Crude Oil
90.58
+1.98%
+2.29%
7,084
-0.97
RBOB Gasoline
2.97
-6.76%
-5.86%
69,851
+0.38
Heating Oil (ULSD)
4.33
+0.00%
+0.00%
13,574
-0.32
Natural Gas
2.69
-2.18%
-3.93%
-110,630
-1.18
Precious Metals
Gold
4,406.33
+0.36%
-0.46%
137,662
+1.07
Silver
65.84
+1.91%
-0.62%
11,158
-0.58
Platinum
1,775.50
+2.13%
-0.02%
7,718
-0.67
Palladium
1,332.00
—
—
-4,947
-0.99
Base Metals
Copper
6.60
+0.01%
+0.05%
79,027
+1.61
Grains
Corn
4.89
—
—
125,875
+0.69
Wheat (SRW)
6.89
—
—
-33,400
+0.61
Wheat (HRW)
7.71
—
—
25,606
+1.11
Soybeans
12.16
+3.60%
+4.40%
109,109
-0.06
Soybean Oil
0.71
+2.51%
+2.64%
79,284
+0.35
Soybean Meal
318.80
+3.27%
+2.51%
73,690
+0.73
Softs
Sugar No. 11
0.17
+1.81%
+2.92%
43,584
+3.51
Coffee C
3.18
—
—
32,433
+0.06
Cocoa
6,078.00
—
—
-6,667
-0.08
Cotton No. 2
0.85
+2.03%
+2.51%
66,780
+1.74
Livestock
Live Cattle
2.19
—
—
65,949
-2.43
Feeder Cattle
3.33
—
—
10,902
-1.39
Lean Hogs
0.82
—
—
-24,363
-1.50
Cross-section of 23 commodity markets | n 23 | WTI Crude Oil last 83.68 1d 1.55% net 79916 z 0.7616985462557693 | Brent Crude Oil last 90.58 1d 1.98% net 7084 z -0.9732030847095096 | RBOB Gasoline last 2.969 1d -6.76% net 69851 z 0.37734983944477096 | Heating Oil (ULSD) last 4.33 1d 0.0% net 13574 z -0.32058203578186045 | Natural Gas last 2.69 1d -2.18% net -110630 z -1.1788210364556022 | Gold last 4406.33 1d 0.36% net 137662 z 1.0680019417969828 | Silver last 65.84 1d 1.91% net 11158 z -0.5848650981892426 | Platinum last 1775.5 1d 2.13% net 7718 z -0.6721458801321419 | Palladium last 1332.0 1d None% net -4947 z -0.9875957216529972 | Copper last 6.6 1d 0.01% net 79027 z 1.6069952057746997 | Corn last 4.89 1d None% net 125875 z 0.6925078566671122 | Wheat (SRW) last 6.8925 1d None% net -33400 z 0.6075855465392617 | Wheat (HRW) last 7.705 1d None% net 25606 z 1.1073607973861233 | Soybeans last 12.16 1d 3.6% net 109109 z -0.05519699990565763 | Soybean Oil last 0.7078 1d 2.51% net 79284 z 0.3501113514179189 | Soybean Meal last 318.8 1d 3.27% net 73690 z 0.727501521564214 | Sugar No. 11 last 0.169 1d 1.81% net 43584 z 3.5096706687236474 | Coffee C last 3.1765 1d None% net 32433 z 0.06214701120908892 | Cocoa last 6078.0 1d None% net -6667 z -0.07596958709477582 | Cotton No. 2 last 0.853 1d 2.03% net 66780 z 1.7410499551582566 | Live Cattle last 2.1865 1d None% net 65949 z -2.4290302671440713 | Feeder Cattle last 3.32875 1d None% net 10902 z -1.3908962379010177 | Lean Hogs last 0.81675 1d None% net -24363 z -1.4952940268482424
Net position is managed money longs minus shorts, in contracts; a positive number is a net long. Net positions are as of the 11 Aug report; prices are the 17 Aug close.
Energy
Energy
Energy was mixed, 2 of 5 higher.
WTI rose 1.55% to 83.68 $/bbl and Brent 1.98% to 90.58 as PETROAN demanded guaranteed crude supply before Port Harcourt and Warri restart, while RBOB fell 6.76% to 2.969 $/gal, heating oil was unchanged at 4.33 and natural gas fell 2.18% to 2.69; managed-money WTI net fell 7042 to 79916 and natural gas net was -110630 after a 16303 increase.
Energy — session changeEnergy — one-session change | n 5 | Range: -6.76% to +1.98% | WTI Crude Oil +1.55%, Brent Crude Oil +1.98%, RBOB Gasoline -6.76%, Heating Oil (ULSD) +0.00%, Natural Gas -2.18%
Natural Gas covered a heavily short net short.
Energy — positioning, 52-week zEnergy — managed-money net, 52-week z | n 5 | WTI Crude Oil +0.76, Brent Crude Oil -0.97, RBOB Gasoline +0.38, Heating Oil (ULSD) -0.32, Natural Gas -1.18WTI Crude Oil — price and positioningWTI Crude Oil price against managed-money net, 2025-08-18 to 2026-08-17 | price n 249 daily, range 55.44 to 114.58 $/bbl | net n 52 weekly | price sampled monthly: 2025-08-18 64.51, 2025-09-17 64.41, 2025-10-17 58.30, 2025-11-18 61.51, 2025-12-18 56.22, 2026-01-21 60.38, 2026-02-20 66.69, 2026-03-23 89.33, 2026-04-22 94.76, 2026-05-21 100.20, 2026-06-23 74.62, 2026-07-23 93.08, 2026-08-17 83.68 | net sampled monthly: 2025-08-19 27,445, 2025-09-16 36,799, 2025-10-14 -18,766, 2025-11-10 -11,646, 2025-12-09 6,878, 2026-01-06 24,528, 2026-02-03 76,760, 2026-03-03 68,385, 2026-03-31 73,347, 2026-04-28 80,331, 2026-05-26 79,924, 2026-06-23 82,872, 2026-07-21 63,979, 2026-08-11 79,916Brent Crude Oil — price and positioningBrent Crude Oil price against managed-money net, 2025-08-18 to 2026-08-17 | price n 253 daily, range 59.93 to 138.21 $/bbl | net n 52 weekly | price sampled monthly: 2025-08-18 68.18, 2025-09-17 69.19, 2025-10-16 61.08, 2025-11-14 63.45, 2025-12-15 61.55, 2026-01-16 66.97, 2026-02-16 70.81, 2026-03-17 108.39, 2026-04-17 98.63, 2026-05-19 114.64, 2026-06-18 79.35, 2026-07-17 85.01, 2026-08-17 90.58 | net sampled monthly: 2025-08-19 -276, 2025-09-16 5,415, 2025-10-14 8,431, 2025-11-10 18,488, 2025-12-09 14,829, 2026-01-06 16,484, 2026-02-03 13,281, 2026-03-03 15,099, 2026-03-31 19,881, 2026-04-28 13,812, 2026-05-26 9,568, 2026-06-23 6,823, 2026-07-21 14,255, 2026-08-11 7,084RBOB Gasoline — price and positioningRBOB Gasoline price against managed-money net, 2025-08-18 to 2026-08-17 | price n 251 daily, range 1.68 to 3.77 $/gal | net n 52 weekly | price sampled monthly: 2025-08-18 2.10, 2025-09-17 2.03, 2025-10-16 1.81, 2025-11-14 2.01, 2025-12-16 1.68, 2026-01-16 1.79, 2026-02-18 1.97, 2026-03-19 3.13, 2026-04-20 3.12, 2026-05-19 3.70, 2026-06-18 2.99, 2026-07-21 3.41, 2026-08-17 2.97 | net sampled monthly: 2025-08-19 25,972, 2025-09-16 48,283, 2025-10-14 34,162, 2025-11-10 77,000, 2025-12-09 84,498, 2026-01-06 49,065, 2026-02-03 67,731, 2026-03-03 85,285, 2026-03-31 63,483, 2026-04-28 61,800, 2026-05-26 67,062, 2026-06-23 71,095, 2026-07-21 73,707, 2026-08-11 69,851Heating Oil (ULSD) — price and positioningHeating Oil (ULSD) price against managed-money net, 2025-08-18 to 2026-08-17 | price n 249 daily, range 2.09 to 4.71 $/gal | net n 52 weekly | price sampled monthly: 2025-08-18 2.30, 2025-09-17 2.40, 2025-10-17 2.23, 2025-11-18 2.74, 2025-12-18 2.18, 2026-01-21 2.33, 2026-02-20 2.63, 2026-03-23 4.19, 2026-04-22 3.97, 2026-05-21 3.97, 2026-06-23 3.17, 2026-07-23 4.36, 2026-08-17 4.33 | net sampled monthly: 2025-08-19 31,771, 2025-09-16 24,303, 2025-10-14 12,152, 2025-11-10 38,673, 2025-12-09 19,969, 2026-01-06 451, 2026-02-03 24,377, 2026-03-03 23,352, 2026-03-31 19,425, 2026-04-28 12,499, 2026-05-26 7,689, 2026-06-23 6,408, 2026-07-21 13,381, 2026-08-11 13,574Natural Gas — price and positioningNatural Gas price against managed-money net, 2025-08-18 to 2026-08-17 | price n 247 daily, range 2.54 to 30.72 $/MMBtu | net n 52 weekly | price sampled monthly: 2025-08-18 2.96, 2025-09-17 3.19, 2025-10-16 2.82, 2025-11-17 3.71, 2025-12-18 3.87, 2026-01-23 30.72, 2026-02-24 2.99, 2026-03-25 2.94, 2026-04-24 2.54, 2026-05-26 3.10, 2026-06-25 3.21, 2026-07-27 2.63, 2026-08-17 2.69 | net sampled monthly: 2025-08-19 -36,687, 2025-09-16 -23,091, 2025-10-14 -75,339, 2025-11-10 -52,820, 2025-12-09 -31,091, 2026-01-06 -101,384, 2026-02-03 -47, 2026-03-03 -76,252, 2026-03-31 -67,616, 2026-04-28 -97,245, 2026-05-26 -134,426, 2026-06-23 -82,722, 2026-07-21 -102,756, 2026-08-11 -110,630
Gold rose 0.36% to 4406.33 $/oz, silver 1.91% to 65.84 and platinum 2.13% to 1775.5 as headlines flagged gold prices gaining; managed-money gold net rose 6896 to 137662, silver net fell 816 to 11158 and platinum net fell 3242 to 7718.
Copper was little changed, up 0.01% at 6.6 $/lb, as Korea Eximbank moved to lend to Glencore for copper supply and headlines cited a squeeze with spreads surging; managed-money net rose 3269 to 79027.
Base Metals — session changeBase Metals — one-session change | n 1 | Range: +0.01% to +0.01% | Copper +0.01%
Copper added to a extended net long.
Base Metals — positioning, 52-week zBase Metals — managed-money net, 52-week z | n 1 | Copper +1.61Copper — price and positioningCopper price against managed-money net, 2025-08-18 to 2026-08-17 | price n 251 daily, range 4.41 to 6.70 $/lb | net n 52 weekly | price sampled monthly: 2025-08-18 4.46, 2025-09-17 4.57, 2025-10-16 4.96, 2025-11-14 5.05, 2025-12-16 5.29, 2026-01-16 5.79, 2026-02-18 5.79, 2026-03-19 5.43, 2026-04-20 6.04, 2026-05-19 6.17, 2026-06-18 6.37, 2026-07-21 6.51, 2026-08-17 6.60 | net sampled monthly: 2025-08-19 25,609, 2025-09-16 42,097, 2025-10-14 58,384, 2025-11-10 63,284, 2025-12-09 70,484, 2026-01-06 68,242, 2026-02-03 55,923, 2026-03-03 48,494, 2026-03-31 39,172, 2026-04-28 60,937, 2026-05-26 70,500, 2026-06-23 66,547, 2026-07-21 71,515, 2026-08-11 79,027
Soybeans rose 3.6% to 12.16 $/bu, soybean oil 2.51% to 0.7078 $/lb and soybean meal 3.27% to 318.8 $/short ton, while corn lasted 4.89, SRW wheat 6.8925 and HRW wheat 7.705 with no 1d change printed; managed-money soybeans net fell 23415 to 109109 and corn net fell 18946 to 125875.
Sugar No. 11 rose 1.81% to 0.169 $/lb and cotton 2.03% to 0.853 as NSDC targeted investment to cut sugar imports and India weighed a sugar import duty cut, with coffee last at 3.1765 and cocoa at 6078.0 and no 1d change printed; managed-money sugar net was 43584 after a 130772 rise and cotton net rose 11459 to 66780.
Books against the sessionManaged-money 52-week z against one-session change | n 14 | WTI Crude Oil z +0.76 chg +1.55%, Brent Crude Oil z -0.97 chg +1.98%, RBOB Gasoline z +0.38 chg -6.76%, Heating Oil (ULSD) z -0.32 chg +0.00%, Natural Gas z -1.18 chg -2.18%, Gold z +1.07 chg +0.36%, Silver z -0.58 chg +1.91%, Platinum z -0.67 chg +2.13%, Copper z +1.61 chg +0.01%, Soybeans z -0.06 chg +3.60%, Soybean Oil z +0.35 chg +2.51%, Soybean Meal z +0.73 chg +3.27%, Sugar No. 11 z +3.51 chg +1.81%, Cotton No. 2 z +1.74 chg +2.03%
Managed-money net position expressed as a z-score over 52 weeks, against the session price change. Live cross-section.
Notes
Prices are the 17 Aug close. This note is written before the US open and carries no overnight session: moves in Asian and European hours after that close are not reflected above.
Positioning is the CFTC Commitments of Traders (Disaggregated) report for 11 Aug, futures only. The Base Metals section covers copper alone — it is the only base metal in this universe with a daily price.
Contract rolls. A continuous front-month series is two different contracts either side of a roll, and the change across that seam measures the calendar spread rather than the tape.
Palladium: the two closes belong to two different contracts (PAQ26.NYM then PAU26.NYM) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Corn: the two closes belong to two different contracts (ZCU26.CBT then ZCZ26.CBT) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Wheat (SRW): the two closes belong to two different contracts (ZWU26.CBT then ZWZ26.CBT) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Wheat (HRW): the two closes belong to two different contracts (KEU26.CBT then KEZ26.CBT) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Coffee C: the two closes belong to two different contracts (KCU26.NYB then KCZ26.NYB) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Cocoa: the two closes belong to two different contracts (CCU26.NYB then CCZ26.NYB) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Live Cattle: the two closes belong to two different contracts (LEQ26.CME then LEV26.CME) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Feeder Cattle: the two closes belong to two different contracts (GFQ26.CME then GFU26.CME) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.
Lean Hogs: the two closes belong to two different contracts (HEQ26.CME then HEV26.CME) — the change is the calendar spread, not a session move. The level shown is current; the change is withheld.