Gold $8bn Speculative Sell‑off Accelerates

Gold $8bn Speculative Sell‑off Accelerates

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commitment of Traders data shows that Managed Money, \"Other\" and Non‑Reportable traders liquidated approximately $8 billion of gold positions between 20 October and 27 October 2026, marking the fifth consecutive week of net speculative outflows. Cumulative speculative outflows since 22 September total $19.5 billion, comprising $5.2 billion of long liquidations and $2.8 billion of newly established short positions. The \"Other\" category alone accounted for about 95 % of total outflows, with gross long selling of roughly $4 billion.

During the same observation window gold prices fell 1.6 % despite an 11‑basis‑point decline in U.S. 10‑year real yields, a move that normally supports bullion. Instead, the metal faced headwinds from a 0.6 % appreciation in the U.S. dollar and a 4.1 % rally in Brent crude oil. Analysts linked the unwinding of \"Other\" positions to concerns over sovereign liquidity management and dollar resilience, noting moderately negative six‑month correlations between \"Other\" gross longs and both the dollar index (DXY) and front‑month Brent contracts.

Gold’s weakness continued into the month‑end, with the price shedding an additional 4.3 % between 27 October and 30 October as Brent crude rose another 3.7 %. In the derivatives market, implied volatility for three‑month gold options increased, and the normalized 25‑delta put‑call skew rose to the 85th percentile of its one‑year range, indicating heightened downside hedging activity.

Despite the heavy selling, \"Other\" gross long positions on 27 October remained above their two‑year median in both notional terms and as a percentage of open interest, leaving scope for further liquidations.