COT data on the chart.

You do not know which direction to keep for trading. The positions of the major market participants are graphically displayed in our COT tool. Here you can see the direction of the trade and receive the necessary COT signals.

GO TO COT TOOL

How it works

1.

Select market from the table

2.

Analyze COT data

3.

Recognize trends

COT report online with free charts

How To Trade Using COT Report see moreGet a free advice
Last Trades: BRITISH POUND -$4,000 CANADIAN $ -$9,180 see more
The COT report is published by the CFTC on Friday about 15:30 CET. The data shows positions as of Tuesday’s close. Info below has been updated 05/26/2023 after market closure and contains the newest CoT report.
* Click on the futures symbols to draw the chart!
Week to:
05/26/2023
Price change, % Trend Commercial Large Speculators Small Traders Open Interest Net Positions - Commercials 26-weeks Position Extremes Commercial COT Index
Long Change Short Change Long Change Short Change Long Change Short Change Value Change,% Net Change Change,% High Low
Indices
S&P5000.50%1 880 06984 2891 457 96277 840195 793-5 485600 08510 086248 7265 119266 541-4 0032 385 9363%422 1076 4492%422 107160 719100%
NASDAQ3.80%149 8302 567155 4991 07878 974-2 04864 4653 40738 9541 54947 794-2 417275 1751%-5 6691 489-21%43 337-12 77913%
RUSSELL0.19%429 102-23 782373 706-8 63358 528-7 146107 421-22 25621 137-9927 640-138516 279-6%55 396-15 149-21%70 54541 37448%
DOW E-MINI-0.92%58 58752332 5971 33622 066-2 41944 798-1 33211 98666015 244-1 24093 883-2%25 990-813-3%32 6218 35473%
Bonds
30-YR T-BONDS-0.86%966 32925 214962 63321 203112 27121 078155 5072 733192 5168 707152 97631 0631 299 2745%3 6964 011-1 273%172 835-3152%
10-YR T-BONDS-0.28%3 797 760209 7593 115 35898 060480 032-47 4581 251 67031 738454 534-422365 29832 0814 902 2884%682 402111 69920%728 799359 62087%
Currencies
DOLLAR INDEX1.06%859-1 95814 728-44622 1941 52510 954-2015 398-2462 769-3230 203-2%-13 869-1 51212%-11 955-28 49288%
EURO FX-0.78%418 0711 688642 266-12 450250 070-8 66676 3344 68792 077-1 13541 618-350781 123-1%-224 19514 138-6%-154 585-238 33317%
SWISS FRANC-0.67%18 328-19616 63795110 2671 70611 17075013 674-92614 462-1 11744 8083%1 691-1 147-40%19 9701 6910%
BRITISH POUND-0.79%123 348-2 327140 024-3 38069 203-8 18557 614-7 18131 09722426 010273237 614-4%-16 6761 053-6%49 232-17 7292%
JAPANESE YEN-2.09%157 49815 10665 120-1 13536 7607 266117 42023 13527 6801 11039 3981 482226 40013%92 37816 24121%92 37817 145100%
CANADIAN DOLLAR-0.92%103 5975 50854 45790120 388-8 12668 914-2 59031 12635931 740-570159 199-1%49 1404 60710%64 44913 95170%
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR-2.04%102 0794 01042 0365 86953 4199 516102 5005 00319 057-61930 0192 035180 1388%60 043-1 859-3%61 90222 74195%
NEW ZEALAND $ -3.67%17 8546518 4102 56416 6482 03817 0113264 0363413 117-44639 0118%-556-2 499-129%8 896-10 45551%
MEXICAN PESO1.22%106 541-4 637189 157-1 486118 579-14 68941 636-17 9978 155-8132 482-656233 538-8%-82 616-3 1514%50 262-82 6160%
Energy
CRUDE OIL1.35%705 745-24 891923 131-23 117317 600-10 371124 481-12 02182 700-1 66858 433-1 7921 847 9010%-217 386-1 7741%-178 904-273 24759%
GASOLINE3.83%146 997-4 330199 3872 76984 61111 22237 3434 63820 449-92015 327-1 435310 2062%-52 390-7 09916%-42 807-80 41975%
HEATING OIL0.29%152 2738 452168 9788 10546 43464137 33784342 159-1 95534 551-1 810306 3602%-16 705347-2%-7 817-48 54078%
NATURAL GAS-11%528 204-11 567447 3672 540266 908-1 535379 186-13 23270 591-2 42039 150-4 8301 338 868-2%80 837-14 107-15%150 94680 8370%
Metals
GOLD-0.76%142 9844 662330 007-19 872236 149-19 10175 417-1949 327-5 52523 036-73479 080-8%-187 02324 534-12%-118 920-222 51534%
SILVER-2.39%42 194-83277 166-2 92756 686-3 75434 728-1 89725 6554812 641286135 740-3%-34 9722 095-6%-5 613-46 19028%
PLATINUM-3.97%19 698-1 53051 85522241 2461 28413 767-3727 306242 628-7273 0790%-32 157-1 7526%-8 394-34 3468%
PALLADIUM-5.56%7 400-5001 731-7811 720-627 0093111 3792431 75915111 138-13%5 6692815%7 49185473%
COPPER-1.52%101 1691 14673 6732 34561 4631 77091 271-1 02917 941-1 30015 629300215 3942%27 496-1 199-4%28 695-26 54298%
Grains
SOYBEANS2.38%351 0247 174353 428-1 486138 687-8 030109 48291944 58174971 382460651 2481%-2 4048 660-78%-2 404-163 267100%
SOYBEAN MEAL-1.52%184 2715 376304 173-1 611136 5461 90626 5244 22543 425-2 34633 5452 322479 8053%-119 9026 987-6%-103 005-196 15982%
SOYBEAN OIL3.31%302 2485 539273 3376 80186 8424 292114 7052 67230 16113431 209492541 4004%28 911-1 262-4%30 173-116 88999%
CORN8.76%682 8865 826567 054-7 381282 880599345 14714 407116 8841 543170 4499421 299 8410%115 83213 20713%115 832-231 169100%
WHEAT2.03%141 2822 83960 696-1 949112 3901 716198 7096 62337 340-52631 607-645379 4532%80 5864 7886%83 37037 02494%
ROUGH RICE-0.38%3 4243545 766-2242 509-2809822441 899251 084798 044-1%-2 342578-20%2 089-2 92012%
Softs
COTTON-3.89%88 722-3 254114 73920 90863 5409 36041 221-11 40413 0242 1129 326-1 286192 9814%-26 017-24 1621 303%14 226-26 0170%
COFFEE-5.17%88 628-46122 0011 10353 68783020 939-8837 267-2066 642358198 6832%-33 373-1 1494%24 251-38 3098%
COCOA-2.31%97 452-1 189168 197362142 4384 40077 0643 08115 90177610 530544335 7101%-70 745-1 5512%-13 322-70 7450%
SUGAR-1.67%386 1506 847709 4736 787350 2449 75876 4346 77792 28492542 7713 966983 8872%-323 323600%-222 607-335 64011%
ORANGE JUICE12.95%2 246-344 809954 268-791 9131042 0314321 8231208 8215%-2 563-1295%-2 434-7 60098%
Meats
LIVE CATTLE0.41%89 3442 268179 235-197151 1785 47049 5315 93932 23530643 9912 302331 2853%-89 8912 465-3%-52 026-99 96921%
FEEDER CATTLE-0.51%15 5701 40118 6162 48626 2762 56812 8132928 9032219 3201 21365 5166%-3 046-1 08555%7 905-3 3333%
LEAN HOGS-10.01%88 003-2 32957 598-6 11160 03391393 8856 03124 705-32621 258-1 662233 0150%30 4053 78214%30 405-33 100100%
Other
BITCOIN0.13%16851 413-21310 124699 2311871 207-127855-2713 0430%-1 245218-15%920-1 4639%
VIX FUTURES-2.02%205 8396 704137 689-5 41183 118-6 462147 7453 78325 292-3 17828 815-1 308388 769-4%68 15012 11522%85 45345 77156%
Source from CFTC. Release Schedule of COT report. Download Excel. Download PDF.
* Click on the futures symbols to draw the chart!

COT Report Online With Free Charts

What is the “COT Report” and what exactly does it tell us? How do we evaluate it and how do we use COT data for our trading preparation? This article will give you the answers to those questions.

What is the Commitments of Traders (COT) report?

The Commitments of Traders (COT) report is an exchange report that is published weekly by the American Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The CFTC was created by the US Congress as an independent authority in 1974.

It has the mandate to regulate the commodity and options markets in the United States. Through this oversight, the CFTC ensures that the futures markets perform two important functions: pricing in the commodities sector and reducing price risk in the futures and options market.

The report presents the US futures as transparent financial instruments and thereby creates fair competitive conditions for all large and small traders on the futures markets.

It is usually published at market close (at 21:30 CET) on a Friday on the CFTC website and presents the positions of the market participants subject to reporting requirements. These positions are reported by brokers to the CFTC for analysis and verification. The data refers to the market situation at market close on Tuesday of the relevant trading week.

What information does the report offer?

Firstly, one thing must be clarified: There is no ONE COT report. Instead, there are a number of different formats that have evolved over time since the beginning of reporting. They also highlight special areas of the futures markets, such as the Traders in Financial Futures report (TFF), which covers traders in financial futures contracts such as currencies, US Treasury securities, Eurodollars, stocks, VIX or the Bloomberg Commodity Index.

In this article, I will deal exclusively with the Legacy Report, the report originally broken down by exchange and, specifically, we will regard the “Futures Only” report, not the “Futures and Options Combined” report.

After downloading the current report from the website of the CFTC, you will see the following picture. (click on the graphics to zoom)

The long and short positions of the three groups of market participants can be seen (note: a special feature is the “spreads” value of the group of non-commercials, which we are not interested in at the moment). The report also shows the total open interest in this market.

CFTC Commitments of Traders Short Report – CBT (Futures Only)

Fig. 1: CFTC Commitments of Traders Short Report – CBT (Futures Only)

What groups of market participants can we find in the COT report?

There are two major groups of market participants active in the market: commercials and non-commercials. Non-commercials are also known as large speculators. These two groups are the reporting agent traders, known as reportables. The third group, the non-reportables (often referred to as small speculators or small traders) is calculated by subtracting the total number of long or short positions in the reportables from the total open interest.

Commercials aka the hedgers

The term “commercials” refers to market participants who operate on the futures markets primarily for hedging purposes. Another term for commercials is hedgers. They are typically manufacturing or processing companies that wish to hedge against price fluctuations on the futures market in order to avoid dependence on commodity prices. Commercials do not speculate. They want to protect themselves by opening positions against price expectations.

A commercial produces a product and therefore has a larger stock of the product, or needs the product for his business. Commercials could be, for example, large agricultural cooperatives or multinational production companies (Nestle, Procter & Gamble, etc.)

Non-commercials aka the large speculators

The non-commercials are different. These are the market participants who conduct speculative transactions on a large scale. Typically, this would be the institutional traders, hedge funds or large investment banks, all of whose positions exceed the limit of the reporting obligation.

Non-reportables aka the small fish

The figures for non-reportables are calculated by deducting the totals of the reportables from the total value of open interest. Non-reportables are those market participants who are not subject to reporting requirements, in other words, they are “small traders like you and me”. However, they could also be trading companies (small banks, trading houses), which do not exceed the defined limits on traded contracts.

How do we use the report for our trading?

The report is analyzed for the net positions

We use the COT report as a source of basic information for our actions. However, in the form in which it is available from the CFTC site, it is not very helpful. Compare it to Figure 1, where the raw data must first be evaluated. Let’s take a look at the net positions of the commercials.

The result comes from the difference between the long and short positions of the report. From the example above, we can see:

Net position = 113,175 – 128,957 = – 15,782

which means 15,782 contracts net short

We then present these net values graphically in order to get an overview of the development, and especially the changes of the positions.

Significance of the net positions in terms of the commercial index

After calculating the net positions, we are already one step further, but have not yet reached our goal. The net position itself does not tell us anything about how the commercials have actually positioned themselves. If we only know that the commercials are 15,782 contracts short this week, that does not help us much.

How should this figure be interpreted? Are the commercials now extremely short or are they actually in their normal short range?

We need an indicator that lets us evaluate this figure. And we get it by relating the current position to the positions over a certain period. So, we calculate an index that allows us to evaluate the current position as a percentage:

We calculate the commercial index (as a fixed period, we are looking at three years here):

COT Commercial index as a formula

Fig. 2: COT Commercial index as a formula

With the help of this calculation, we now have some informative value of the current net position, which serves as the basis for our trading.

Why do we pay so much attention to the commercials?

Commercials produce commodities and supply the world market with them. Or they need the commodities in large quantities for their business. The existence of these people depends on the commodities, and of course on the commodity prices. Because of their direct link to commodities, the commercials will predict future price developments much earlier than other participants in the market – and hedge against them.

Commercials usually trade counter cyclically. Their positions allow an inference to be drawn about the expected market movement. This data does not serve as a timing instrument, however!

In other words: Just because the commercials are now moving extremely short does NOT mean that we’re going to go short tomorrow. But it is an indication of a market situation that tends to change. It is now advisable to analyze this market and watch it closely, because there may be movement here soon, which we can then use to our advantage.

Soybeans, Pricechart and COT-Data

Fig. 3: COT Commercial index as a formula

A specific example: Soybeans 12/2018 – 11/2019

You can see the price on the soybeans market and the net positions of the three groups of participants (weekly chart). Look at the net positions of the commercials (red line) and the soya beans price at points A and B and the subsequent price development.

How to follow our trades?

In January 2023 we launched our membership, which allow you to watch "over the shoulder" how we make decisions.

In our new Pro Trader subscription you experience pure practice. We show you transparently how we trade on our StartUp and COT-1 accounts, based on the COT Report. The trades made on the StartUp account are more suitable for traders with smaller account (~$30,000), while the COT-1 account is more reflective of professional traders with larger accounts. All entries and exits on this trading accounts are announced and implemented in advance. At the end of the trading week, all implemented trades are evaluated and documented in a public trading statistic. This ensures 100% transparency.

Click the button below to get more details and join the membership.

Trade with me

Remember! Subscription is a great way to get an "inside" view on how our team trades. However, you should realize that the responsibility for your portfolio is entirely yours, a trade may require more than one entry attempt. It’s up to you to control the risk by using stop losses, we can only share our experience and vision with you.

We wish you profitable trades and the development of your trading strategy!

Disclaimer

Futures, foreign currency and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one’s financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

CFTC Rules 4.41 - Hypothetical or Simulated performance results have certain limitations, unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not been executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown.