Open Interest(OI) in Futures

[SuperDriveGuy]

Hi,
Is Open Interest the same as Short Interest in stocks? So is it negative for Short and positive for Long Interest(if that's a valid term)?

Where can I find Open Interest data on futures namely CME(6E Euro, 6B Pound) etc. I can see the daily figures on the CME website,but I am interested in historical data as well, to correlate this with the Daily price movements.

TIA.

Regards,

SDG

 

[peace]

Hi SuperDriveGuy

You may find the COT report to be of some use: http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/commitmentsoftraders/index.htm

Peace

 

[SuperDriveGuy]

Hi SuperDriveGuy

You may find the COT report to be of some use: http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/commitmentsoftraders/index.htm

Peace

Hi Peace,

Thanks for that link.

Do you know of any data provider or website that may give this information, but in a chart(or chartable) format. My primary use being to see the affect on daily price of this figure.

Saw you profile, I trade the CME currency futures mainly and also FESX and FTSE.

Regards,

SDG

 

[Rhody Trader]

Open interest is the sum total of all outstanding positions in a futures or options contract. That means all longs matched against shorts, as must be the case in those markets. In a way you can think of it similarly to a stock's float. Short interest in the equity market only measures the number of shares shorted.

OI is normally included in commonly available futures charts along with volume (perhaps as a study), though I believe generally reported a day in arrears.

 

[SuperDriveGuy]

Open interest is the sum total of all outstanding positions in a futures or options contract. That means all longs matched against shorts, as must be the case in those markets. In a way you can think of it similarly to a stock's float. Short interest in the equity market only measures the number of shares shorted.

OI is normally included in commonly available futures charts along with volume (perhaps as a study), though I believe generally reported a day in arrears.

Hi Rhody Trader,
Thanks for your reply.

I use NinjaTrader and am not sure they have this indicator, probably TradeStation do, vaguely remember seeing it. Thanks for that info.

About Open Interest, I am still confused, so say we have a figure of 123,000 Open Interest in the 6E(Euro FX) contract on CME, would that mean we have 123K contracts Long?

Regards,

SDG

 

[Rhody Trader]

About Open Interest, I am still confused, so say we have a figure of 123,000 Open Interest in the 6E(Euro FX) contract on CME, would that mean we have 123K contracts Long?

An OI reading of 123,000 would indeed mean 123,000 contracts long. At the same time it also means 123,000 contracts short. Longs must match shorts in the futures market, after all. You can't have one without the other.

 

[SuperDriveGuy]

An OI reading of 123,000 would indeed mean 123,000 contracts long. At the same time it also means 123,000 contracts short. Longs must match shorts in the futures market, after all. You can't have one without the other.

Hi RhodyTrader,
Thanks for replying.

I am still confused. So what does that figure actually indicate?

Thanks,

SDG

 

[Rhody Trader]

Open Interest indicates the total number of contracts active in the market.

Let me demonstrate by example. You and I represent the whole market for gold futures. Before we do a trade together there is 0 open interest. Let's say I then go long 10 contracts with you taking the short side. That increases OI to 10. Then let's say I close out of 5 of those contracts, leaving me long 5 and you short 5. That drops OI down to 5.

Make sense now?

 

[SuperDriveGuy]

Open Interest indicates the total number of contracts active in the market.

Let me demonstrate by example. You and I represent the whole market for gold futures. Before we do a trade together there is 0 open interest. Let's say I then go long 10 contracts with you taking the short side. That increases OI to 10. Then let's say I close out of 5 of those contracts, leaving me long 5 and you short 5. That drops OI down to 5.

Make sense now?

Aha! Thanks Rhody Trader.

So basically its the number of contracts traded(not to be confused with volume). Maybe something similar to number of shares traded(in stock terminology).

I had found this on investopedia earlier, but I can now put it in perspective.

----------------------
Investopedia Says
Investopedia explains Open Interest
1. A common misconception is that open interest is the same thing as volume of options and futures trades. This is not correct, as demonstrated in the following example:

Open Interest


-On January 1, A buys an option, which leaves an open interest and also creates trading volume of 1.
-On January 2, C and D create trading volume of 5 and there are also five more options left open.
-On January 3, A takes an offsetting position, open interest is reduced by 1 and trading volume is 1.
-On January 4, E simply replaces C and open interest does not change, trading volume increases by 5.
----------------------------------


I was after Short Interest for futures, which I guess there isnt one but these articles
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/02/110602.asp
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/02/112002.asp
show the way.

Thanks,

SDG

 

[Rhody Trader]

So basically its the number of contracts traded(not to be confused with volume). Maybe something similar to number of shares traded(in stock terminology).

I would not use the term "traded" because over the course of a contract's life there may be millions of contracts transacted, though the open interest may only be 100k at any given point in time. Each transaction will do one of three things. It will increase OI if it means a position increase by both parties. It will reduce OI if it means a position decrease by both parties. Or it will have no impact on OI if one party is increasing their position while the other is reducing theirs.

Better to say "outstanding" or "open". Basically, OI tells you how many contracts would have to be delivered against were delivery to take place today. The best stock market comparisson is probably the share float or shares outstanding.

 

[peace]

Hi Peace,

Thanks for that link.

Do you know of any data provider or website that may give this information, but in a chart(or chartable) format. My primary use being to see the affect on daily price of this figure.

Saw you profile, I trade the CME currency futures mainly and also FESX and FTSE.

Regards,

SDG

Hi SDG

Sorry for missing the first part of the query in your original post, it's good to see youv'e since moved on.

Yeah, there isn't much on my profile, ah well. I trade futures too, mainly indices and occasionaly gold & corn.

I have been thinking about trading FX futures; for the last couple of weeks been looking at the euro, yen and gb charts on a dialy basis, not quite got a feel for any as yet.

Good trading

Peace