We highlight the key price levels that each participant switches their positions between net long and net short based on 2025 data.
| PARTICIPANT | NET LONG | NET SHORT |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Institution (FI) | Below US$108/mt | N/A |
| Managed Money (MM) | Above US$101/mt | Below US$101/mt |
| Physicals | Below US$100/mt | Above US$101/mt |
| Others | N/A | Below US$108/mt |
Figure 1: Net-positions by participant segment and price comparison | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of MM with long positions decreases for five consecutive weeks to 281. Accordingly, the number MM with short positions increases for five consecutive weeks to 475. Seasonally, more MMs are prone to long in 1HQ4 and 2HQ2, and there are more MMs with short positions in 1HQ2 and 1HQ3.
Figure 2: Number of position holders iron ore | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of physicals with long positions increases to 127 after staying flattish at 121 for three weeks. Accordingly, the number of physicals with short positions decrease to 109, continuing the drop in last week. Seasonally, more physicals are prone to being long in 1Q, and there are more physicals with short positions in Q4.
Figure 3: Number of position holders iron ore | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of others with long positions increases to 101 after previous week’s fall. The number of others with short positions increase to 123, marking a consecutive two weeks’ increase.
Figure 4: Number of position holders iron ore | Source: SGX, KGI Research
We highlight the key price levels at which each participant switches between net long and net short, based on 2025 data.
| PARTICIPANT | NET LONG | NET SHORT |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Institution (FI) | N/A | N/A |
| Managed Money (MM) | Above US$7,000/t | Below US$11,000/mt |
| Physicals | Below US$11,000/mt | Above US$7,000/t |
| Others | Below US$11,000/mt | Above US$7,000/t |
Figure 5: Net-positions by participant segment and price comparison | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of MM with long positions decreases for two consecutive weeks to 44. Accordingly, the number of MM increases to 34 after staying flattish at 33. Seasonally, more MM are prone to long in 1H, and there are more MM with short positions in 2H.
Figure 6: Number of position holders freight futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of physicals with long positions rebounds to 107. Accordingly, the number of physicals with short positions decreases for two consecutive weeks to 98. The number of physicals has been on a general upward trend since 2Q24, while physicals with short positions generally saw a downtrend since 2Q24.
Figure 7: Number of position holders freight futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of others with long positions rebounds to 25, and the number of others with short positions remains unchanged at 26.
Figure 8: Number of position holders freight futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
We highlight the key price levels at which each participant switches between net long and net short, based on 2025 data.
| PARTICPANT | NET LONG | NET SHORT |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Institution (FI) | Below US$2.05/kg | N/A |
| Managed Money (MM) | Above US$1.70/kg | Below US$1.70/kg |
| Physicals | Below US$1.65/kg | Above US$1.65/kg |
| Others | Below US$2.05/kg | N/A |
Figure 9: Net-positions by participant segment and price comparison | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of MM with long positions increases two consecutive weeks to 242. Accordingly, the number of MM with short positions decreases to 40.
Figure 10: Number of position holders rubber futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of physicals with long positions rebounds to 33. Accordingly, the number of physicals with short positions decreases to 43 after staying flattish at 46 for two weeks. Seasonally, more physicals are prone to long in early Q3, and there are more physicals with short positions in Q4.
Figure 11: Number of position holders rubber futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of long holders increases to 91 after staying flattish at 88 for two consecutive weeks. Accordingly, the number of short holders increases to 52 after staying flattish at 50 for two consecutive weeks.
Figure 12: Number of position holders rubber futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
Source: SGX, KGI Research
| CATEGORY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Financial Institutions | An entity, such as a broker trading desk, bank trading desk or swap dealer, that uses the futures markets to manage or hedge the risk. |
| Managed Money | An entity engaged in organised futures trading on behalf of funds or special investment vehicles — including pension funds, asset managers, hedge funds, proprietary trading groups and family offices. |
| Physicals | An entity that predominantly engages in the physical markets and uses futures to manage or hedge risks associated with production, processing, trading, packing, handling, transportation, warehousing or distribution of a physical commodity. |
| Others | Every other trader not placed into the other three categories. E.g., Broker Agency, Bank Agency, Inter-Dealer Brokers, etc. |
