The Debts of the Spenders: CFTC To Modify Commitment of Traders Reports

Great news for those who follow the Commitment of Traders reports!

CFTC To Begin Issuing Expanded Trader Reports Friday


The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will begin issuing expanded reports detailing the positions of large traders on Friday, the regulator said Wednesday.

The new reports will break traders into four categories: one for producers, merchants, processors and users, another for swap dealers, and two others for managed money and “other reportables.”

Previously, the reports broke traders into “commercial” and “noncommercial” categories, broadly meant to describe commodity producers and consumers as well as companies making
speculative bets on the direction of prices. Critics of the report said the two categories were imprecise, as swap dealers, often large banks that trade with commodity users in off-exchange transactions, have little in common with a company producing or consuming physical
commodities.

The content of the reports - the aggregate number of futures and options positions betting that prices will rise or fall - will remain the same. The new reports will cover 22 markets, including agricultural, energy and metals derivatives. The CFTC will continue to issue the old version of the report at least through the end of 2009, and plans to release three years of historical data in the new format.

Source: CME News For Tomorrow