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 fell for five consecutive weeks to 431. Accordingly, the number MM with short positions rose for three consecutive weeks to 211. 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 increase for seven consecutive weeks to 133. Accordingly, the number of physicals with short positions increase for three consecutive weeks to 122. 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 increase to 133 after last week’s decrease. The number of others with short positions decrease for two consecutive weeks to 78.
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 decrease for two consecutive weeks to 48. Accordingly, the number of MM with short positions increase to 24 after consolidating for four consecutive weeks. 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 increase to 119 after previous week decline. Accordingly, the number of physicals with short positions fell for five consecutive weeks to 113. 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 decrease to 21 after previous week’s consolidation and the number of others with short positions increase to 26 after previous week’s decline.
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 decrease for two consecutive weeks to 124. Accordingly, the number of MM with short positions increase for two consecutive weeks to 38.
Figure 10: Number of position holders rubber futures | Source: SGX, KGI Research
The number of physicals with long positions remain unchanged at 38 after increasing for two consecutive weeks. Accordingly, the number of physicals with short positions fell for two consecutive weeks to 47. 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 increase to 64 after previous week’s decline. Accordingly, the number of short holders decrease to 42 after increasing 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. |
