Aug. 18 at 1:08 PM
$CLF Someone asked about short volume. Here is some interesting information.
The last fiv completed CLF sessions are:
Session FINRA Short % Change
Aug. 17 37.95% ↓ 6.13 pts
Aug. 14 44.08% ↓ 10.24 pts
Aug. 13 54.32% ↑ 5.78 pts
Aug. 12 48.54% ↓ 1.00 pt
Aug. 11 49.54% —
5-session average: ~46.9%.
The most interesting part is the 37.95% reading yesterday. CLF rose roughly 3.3% on 16.35M shares, while short-sale participation dropped to the lowest level of these five sessions.
That’s a pretty substantial retreat in short participation over the last two sessions. Combined with official short interest having already fallen from 83.60M to 80.26M shares as of July 31, I’d currently interpret this as short pressure easing, with some covering likely occurring, rather than shorts becoming more aggressive.
I’d pay particular attention to today’s number. Another reading below ~40–42%, especially if CLF holds above
$12, would make the short-covering interpretation considerably stronger.
