The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Wednesday that it will begin releasing more market data in an effort to improve transparency.

Starting on September 4, the CFTC will begin disaggregating the data in its weekly Commitments of Traders reports; and it will also begin releasing, on a quarterly basis, data collected from an ongoing special call on swap dealers and index traders in the futures markets.

“A core mission of the CFTC is to promote market transparency,” said CFTC chairman Gary Gensler. “Last September, the CFTC recommended disaggregating our weekly Commitments of Traders reports. In July, I announced that we would also periodically release data on index investors’ participation in the commodity futures markets. I am pleased that as of Friday, September 4, we will be able to take these steps toward increased transparency. For the first time, we will break out managed money and swaps in our COT reports and release information on index investment to give the public a better of view of trading activity in the futures markets.”

For decades, the CFTC has provided the futures industry with COT reports consisting of aggregated large-trader position data to shed light on the changing composition of the markets. It will start publishing additional data for 22 contract markets, including major agriculture, energy and metals markets, and will break the data into four categories of traders. The traditional COT reports continue to be published at least until the end of 2009.

The CFTC also is working to create a new COT for all of the financial markets in a form that will improve the transparency of those markets.

Additionally, the agency will begin periodically releasing data on index investment in the commodity futures markets. It will begin by releasing the data on a quarterly basis with a goal of eventually releasing this data monthly. The new data will include both gross long and gross short positions and will update data in the previously released report to include some additional data.

IE