Crude Oil WTI: Commitments of Traders Brief for the week ending June 12, 2026

Executive summary

This report covers positioning in WTI Crude Oil futures as of June 9, 2026. Speculative sentiment remains bearish, with Managed Money traders modestly increasing their net short exposure. The most significant development was a substantial reduction in the net long position held by Commercials (Producer/Merchants), driven by both liquidation of long hedges and the addition of new short hedges. This shift occurred during a week of declining crude prices. Overall market participation, as measured by open interest, rose slightly but remains below the peaks seen in May. The dynamic between a heavily long commercial base and a short speculative cohort persists, but the conviction of the commercial long side weakened notably this week.

Positioning (net, extremes vs recent weeks)

• Managed Money (Speculators): Net short position deepened to -27,568 contracts. This is more bearish than the prior week (-26,694) but remains significantly less extreme than the peak net short position of -45,234 contracts recorded in mid-April.
• Producer/Merchant (Commercials): Net long position decreased sharply to +88,963 contracts from +100,592 contracts the week prior. This is the smallest net long stance for this group since early March and is well below the peak of +151,334 contracts from early April.
• Swap Dealers: Remained heavily net short at -93,609 contracts, a position largely unchanged from the prior week. This group continues to serve as a major counterparty, taking the other side of commercial long positions.

Flows and week-over-week changes

The reporting week saw participants adjusting positions amid falling prices. - Managed Money: Executed a bearish flow, selling a small number of longs (-167 contracts) while adding to shorts (+707 contracts). This resulted in a net short increase of 874 contracts. - Producer/Merchant: Showed a significant reduction in bullish positioning. This group sold 4,869 long contracts and simultaneously added 6,760 new short (hedging) contracts, leading to a substantial -11,629 contract change in their net position. - Other Reportables: Were active sellers, reducing longs by 7,660 contracts and covering 4,444 shorts. - Non-Reportable (Retail): Trended in the opposite direction, adding a net 413 contracts of new long positions.

Commercials vs speculators

The classic market structure of bullish Commercials versus bearish Speculators continues, but with a notable shift in conviction. - Commercials (Producer/Merchants): Their large net long position of +88,963 contracts shows that consumers and merchants locking in forward prices still outweigh producers hedging future production. However, the sharp weekly reduction indicates either an acceleration of producer hedging or a pullback in consumer buying, or both. The gross long position of 442,262 contracts remains formidable but is the lowest since early February. - Speculators (Managed Money & Swap Dealers): These two groups are providing the liquidity for commercial longs. Managed Money's net short of -27,568 contracts combined with Swap Dealers' massive -93,609 net short highlights the deep bearish positioning from the speculative side of the market.

Open interest and participation

• Open Interest: Total open interest increased slightly by 1,759 contracts to 818,492. This level is still below the recent peak of over 875,000 contracts seen in mid-May, suggesting a modest decline in overall market participation since then.
• Participation: Commercials remain the dominant force in the market, holding 54.0% of all long positions and 43.2% of all short positions.
• Concentration: The market shows a moderate degree of concentration. The four largest traders account for 29.4% of the net long position and 24.2% of the net short position. These levels do not suggest an immediate risk of a squeeze.

Price context

The positioning data in this report corresponds to a period of price weakness for WTI crude. - During the week covered by the report (ending Tuesday, June 9th), the front-month contract fell from a close of $90.25 on June 5th to $88.70 on June 9th. - The bearish price action aligns with the modest increase in Managed Money net shorts. - More importantly, the substantial reduction in the Commercial net long position occurred into this price drop, suggesting producers may be using any weakness to accelerate hedging programs or that consumers are becoming more hesitant to lock in prices.

Risks and watchpoints

• Commercial Hedging Shift: The -11,629 contract reduction in the Producer/Merchant net long position is the most critical takeaway. A continuation of this trend would signal a weakening of underlying physical demand for forward contracts, potentially removing a key source of price support.
• Managed Money Firepower: While net short, the Managed Money position is far from its recent historical extremes. This implies there is still significant capacity for this group to press the short side if bearish catalysts emerge. Conversely, the "short-covering rally fuel" is less potent than it was in April when their position was far more stretched.
• Swap Dealer Exposure: Swap Dealers' very large and persistent net short position remains a structural feature. Any sudden, material change in this positioning could have a significant impact on market liquidity and volatility.