The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data for the week ending December 5 showed a significant move in money managers’ positions on gold and silver. Money managers lowered their bullish gold bets by 11,895 net-long positions to 132,515 according to the weekly CFTC data on futures and options. This shift was accompanied by a reduction in long-only positions of 15,669 lots to 181,959, while short-only positions decreased by 3,774 lots to 49,444—an 18-week low.
Likewise, the data revealed a shift in silver tendencies. Money managers reduced their net-long bullish silver bets by 2,983 to 22,914. Silver long-only positions fell by 2,497 lots to 45,086, while short-only positions increased by 486 lots to 22,172, the highest level in three weeks.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also showed a decreasing trend, losing 66,897 troy ounces of gold in the latest trading session alone. This resulted to a net sale of 7.68 million ounces for the year, which equates to almost $135.7 million at the current spot price.
This year, the total amount of gold held by ETFs has decreased by 8.2 percent to 86.1 million ounces. Despite this, the price of gold has increased by 11% this year, hitting $2,028.47 per ounce, with a 0.1 percent increase in the most recent session.
The largest precious-metals ETF, State Street’s SPDR Gold Shares, reduced its holdings by 9,010 ounces in the most recent session, resulting in a total of 28.3 million ounces valued at $57.4 billion.
Silver ETFs followed suit, cutting their holdings by 329,136 troy ounces in the most recent trading session. This move amounted to a net sale of 52.4 million ounces for the year, the longest streak of drops since October 20th.
These considerable changes highlight the volatile nature of precious metals markets, reflecting variations in investor mood and strategic portfolio adjustments against a fluctuating economic and geopolitical context.