The "Current Report"
figures below are open positions as of May 6, based on the government
report
issued on May 9 (reports are issued every Friday as of the previous Tuesday,
holidays excepted - (Click
herefor release schedule)) (see note on commercial
hedging below):
(Click here for actual
figures for the years: 2002-8(to date) 200120001999).
For a longer comparison in another
format click
here.
Total
(both large and small) long speculators
outnumber the short speculators, 55% to 14% (as of May 6).
For more detail or to see the original government
issued report, click here: Commitment of
Traders and scroll down to the gold section.
A note
about industry hedging:
The futures market exists for the
benefit of commercial gold buyers (mostly jewelry buyers) and sellers
(mostly mining companies) to be able to lock in a
profit. An industry buyer or seller can lock in a profit if
futures price are right. .
If a mining company passes up the
opportunity to lock up a profit, it will be speculating instead. Most
businessmen agree that if you can lock up a profit rather than
speculate, you should do so. Solid, long lasting companies
are usually not based on speculation.
Therefore, the percentage of
commercial positions does not necessarily reflect the industry attitude
toward the price, but rather has more to do with locking up a profit for
the company.