The latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report from the ICE platform, published on Wednesday morning, shows that investment funds lifted their net long holdings (long holdings minus short holdings) to a new all-time high at the end of last week.

According to market data, net long positions rose by 8.6% from the previous week to 109.8 million allowances, surpassing the previous record of 104 million set in April 2021. It also marks the third consecutive week in which net longs have held above the 100-million threshold.

Speculative traders added 8 million allowances to their long positions, bringing the total to 138.7 million, while simultaneously trimming their short exposure by nearly 0.7 million to 28.9 million allowances.

The bullish sentiment captured in ICE’s report was mirrored in market activity. EUAs rallied to a nine-month high during Friday’s session and closed the day 3.5% above the previous week’s finish, the strongest weekly gain in two months.

The picture is entirely different in the gas market. “Investor positioning underscores the decoupling,” between gas and carbon, analysts at BBVA noted. Since the week ending 21 November, funds have shifted from net long to net short for the first time since March 2024, suggesting a preference for selling over buying.