Impact of U.S government shutdown on commodity reports – Société Générale

Since day one of the shutdown last Wednesday, U.S. governmental agencies have been announcing one after another that they are suspending their reports on their websites, Société Générale's FX analysts note.

US government shutdown halts key commodity reports

"For the moment, we note the suspension of the Commitment of Traders report, which is the basis for our weekly Commodity Compass Analytics; therefore, the following data are as of 23 September for positioning data and as of 3 October for price and open interest data. We strongly suggest a cautious interpretation of the usual graphics as the positioning is not updated."

"However, London-based markets continue to be reported, and their data are updated accordingly as of 30 September. For Brent specifically, the number of traders holding gross short positions was unchanged over the week (58) which barely any change in the number of contracts held. Meanwhile the number of long traders declined by 5 to 89 but overall contract positions declined modestly."

"On the agricultural front, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has indicated that it will no longer publish its WASDE report until further notice. This report presents all the latest data and forecasts on grains and soft commodities. In a mirage-like move, the EIA announced on 1 October on its website that it would continue its operations as usual and maintain its schedule."