COT Positioning
Weekly Commitments of Traders positioning across the major futures contracts, by trader class.
Latest CFTC report: 20 Oct 2026 · Positions as of that Tuesday’s close. Released by the CFTC each Friday ~16:30 ET.
| Flag | Price | Δ 1w | Commercials (smart money) | Large Specs | Small | 26w trend | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net | % of OI | Δ WoW | Net | % of OI | Net | |||||||
| ★ | Australian Dollar currencies | 0.7028 | −0.1% | 333,010 | +114,925 | +34.5% | +8,555 | −127,292 | −38.2% | +12,367 | 100 | |
| ★ | Natural Gas energy | 2.877 | +9.0% | 1,710,685 | +222,969 | +13.0% | +4,131 | −241,272 | −14.1% | +18,303 | 100 | |
| ⚡ | Silver metals | 49.31 | −8.2% | 113,992 | −37,176 | −32.6% | +2,266 | +19,795 | +17.4% | +17,381 | 100 | |
| ⚡ | Platinum metals | 1,439 | −7.4% | 70,511 | −15,694 | −22.3% | +595 | +13,162 | +18.7% | +2,532 | 100 | |
| ★ | Palladium metals | 985.5 | −5.8% | 24,916 | +8,123 | +32.6% | +1,028 | −9,133 | −36.7% | +1,010 | 100 | |
| ⚡ | Copper metals | 6.487 | +0.2% | 327,119 | −64,296 | −19.7% | +12,341 | +57,397 | +17.5% | +6,899 | 100 | |
| ★ | VIX Futures other | 20.02† | +2.9% | 433,778 | +98,577 | +22.7% | +5,403 | −96,509 | −22.2% | −2,068 | 100 | |
| ⚡ | Orange Juice softs | 132.55 | −5.2% | 9,438 | −388 | −4.1% | +109 | +237 | +2.5% | +151 | 99 | |
| ★ | Euro FX currencies | 1.118 | −0.3% | 877,940 | +104,895 | +11.9% | −6,330 | −134,524 | −15.3% | +29,629 | 97 | |
| ⚡ | Soybean Oil grains | 66.27 | −0.8% | 570,462 | −93,393 | −16.4% | +30,774 | +81,627 | +14.3% | +11,766 | 97 | |
| ★ | Lean Hogs meats | 58.83 | −10.3% | 291,717 | +76,013 | +26.1% | −2,861 | −76,730 | −26.3% | +717 | 97 | |
| ⚡ | Live Cattle meats | 221.15 | −3.8% | 289,575 | −22,995 | −7.9% | −3,430 | +30,730 | +10.6% | −7,735 | 95 | |
| ⚡ | Mexican Peso currencies | 0.05305 | −0.8% | 278,165 | −17,826 | −6.4% | −1,730 | +17,023 | +6.1% | +803 | 94 | |
| ★ | 10Y T-Notes bonds | 106.61 | +0.4% | 5,868,295 | +930,819 | +15.9% | −11,747 | −964,293 | −16.4% | +33,474 | 87 | |
| ⚡ | Ether crypto | 2,227 | −6.9% | 28,344 | −2,227 | −7.9% | +387 | +1,947 | +6.9% | +280 | 82 | |
| — | Crude Oil (WTI) energy | 104.01 | +0.7% | 1,835,144 | −116,158 | −6.3% | +9,177 | +89,325 | +4.9% | +26,833 | 77 | |
| — | S&P 500 indices | 7,617 | −0.6% | 1,935,470 | +33,922 | +1.8% | −745 | −142,671 | −7.4% | +108,749 | 70 | |
| — | Cotton softs | 78.13 | −2.6% | 401,293 | −100,837 | −25.1% | +609 | +94,521 | +23.6% | +6,316 | 68 | |
| — | British Pound currencies | 1.339 | +0.2% | 254,060 | +95,508 | +37.6% | −25,936 | −80,420 | −31.7% | −15,088 | 67 | |
| — | Wheat grains | 605.25 | −3.2% | 516,379 | +29,782 | +5.8% | +14,906 | −29,270 | −5.7% | −512 | 65 | |
| — | Feeder Cattle meats | 332.77 | −4.5% | 62,145 | +3,286 | +5.3% | −245 | −487 | −0.8% | −2,799 | 64 | |
| — | Dow indices | 52,044 | −0.7% | 90,022 | −8,113 | −9.0% | +4,344 | +6,725 | +7.5% | +1,388 | 57 | |
| — | Gold metals | 3,905 | −2.6% | 402,279 | −235,582 | −58.6% | +6,949 | +199,865 | +49.7% | +35,717 | 47 | |
| — | Corn grains | 449 | −1.5% | 1,835,658 | −261,080 | −14.2% | +65,878 | +286,689 | +15.6% | −25,609 | 47 | |
| — | Russell 2000 indices | 2,814 | +1.1% | 466,789 | +34,521 | +7.4% | −13,857 | −41,909 | −9.0% | +7,388 | 45 | |
| — | Heating Oil energy | 4.684 | −6.0% | 269,131 | −30,397 | −11.3% | +2,883 | +13,028 | +4.8% | +17,369 | 43 | |
| — | Coffee softs | 287.7 | −6.4% | 170,911 | −21,763 | −12.7% | −7,511 | +20,132 | +11.8% | +1,631 | 43 | |
| — | Canadian Dollar currencies | 0.718 | +0.4% | 383,635 | +86,848 | +22.6% | −18,765 | −74,709 | −19.5% | −12,139 | 42 | |
| — | Bitcoin crypto | 77,400 | −4.7% | 21,040 | −2,725 | −13.0% | +10 | +2,418 | +11.5% | +307 | 34 | |
| — | 5Y T-Notes bonds | 104.87 | +0.3% | 6,715,851 | +1,038,989 | +15.5% | −12,230 | −1,074,109 | −16.0% | +35,120 | 33 | |
| — | Dollar Index currencies | 101.94† | +0.1% | 49,382 | −17,014 | −34.5% | −2,186 | +15,044 | +30.5% | +1,970 | 33 | |
| — | Cocoa softs | 5,459 | −2.4% | 178,141 | +5,363 | +3.0% | −1,693 | −7,077 | −4.0% | +1,714 | 32 | |
| — | RBOB Gasoline energy | 3.165 | −1.5% | 337,457 | −81,044 | −24.0% | +8,945 | +69,589 | +20.6% | +11,455 | 29 | |
| — | 30Y T-Bonds bonds | 107.69 | +0.4% | 1,785,457 | +20,686 | +1.2% | −56,736 | −68,419 | −3.8% | +47,733 | 27 | |
| ★ | Japanese Yen currencies | 0.006365 | −0.3% | 379,141 | −71,087 | −18.7% | −22,500 | +69,878 | +18.4% | +1,209 | 19 | |
| ★ | Soybeans grains | 1,238 | −1.4% | 1,093,612 | −221,638 | −20.3% | +24,101 | +246,596 | +22.5% | −24,958 | 17 | |
| ⚡ | Swiss Franc currencies | 1.22 | +0.1% | 136,451 | +34,017 | +24.9% | −2,255 | −18,150 | −13.3% | −15,867 | 13 | |
| ★ | Soybean Meal grains | 326.5 | −5.7% | 635,401 | −229,210 | −36.1% | +10,380 | +206,000 | +32.4% | +23,210 | 9 | |
| ★ | Nasdaq 100 indices | 28,615 | −1.7% | 272,462 | −63,576 | −23.3% | −3,749 | +50,726 | +18.6% | +12,850 | 6 | |
| ★ | Sugar softs | 19.35 | −4.4% | 1,210,639 | −286,564 | −23.7% | +626 | +228,816 | +18.9% | +57,748 | 0 | |
How to read it
- COT Index (0–100): where commercials' net position sits within its rolling 26-week range. Above 80 = commercials maximally long (washed-out shorts); below 20 = commercials maximally short (peak crowding by everyone else).
- ⚡ Extreme positioning: COT Index above 80 or below 20 — the historically reliable contrarian zones.
- ★ Smart-money divergence: commercials at one extreme AND large speculators at the opposite — the classic "smart money / dumb money" setup.
- 26w trend sparkline: commercials' net position over the last 26 weeks. Direction of slope is more informative than the absolute level.
- Price: front-month futures, latest daily close (Yahoo Finance). A † marks a spot proxy where no futures series is available (Dollar Index, VIX). Δ 1w is close-to-close over 7 calendar days; a contract roll inside that week can distort it.
Overview
The Commitments of Traders report is the closest thing the market has to a positioning X-ray. Published weekly by the CFTC, it breaks open interest in the major futures contracts into trader classes, so you can see who is long and who is short — not just where price is. Positioning is context: it tells you how crowded a move already is and where the fuel for the next one is likely to come from.
The three cohorts
- Commercials — producers and hedgers using futures to offset real exposure. Typically counter-trend and early — they sell into strength and buy into weakness. The smartest, slowest money in the room.
- Non-commercials (large speculators) — hedge funds and managed money. Trend-following by nature; their net position is the headline read on speculative conviction. Extremes here mark crowded trades.
- Non-reportables (retail) — small traders below reporting thresholds. Often most exposed at turning points — useful as a contrarian tell when positioning gets lopsided.
How to read the table
- COT Index (0-100) — where commercials' net position sits within its rolling 26-week range. Above 80 = commercials maximally long (washed-out shorts). Below 20 = commercials maximally short (peak crowding everywhere else).
- ⚡ Extreme positioning — COT Index above 80 or below 20 — the historically reliable contrarian zones to fade momentum.
- ★ Smart-money divergence — commercials at one extreme AND large speculators at the opposite. The classic 'smart money / dumb money' setup — fade the specs, follow the hedgers.
- 26w trend sparkline — commercials' net position over the last 26 weeks. The direction of slope often matters more than the absolute level.
Methodology & source
Data is pulled live from the CFTC’s public Socrata API (publicreporting.cftc.gov) — the same source the official release publishes through. We track 40 contracts across indices, bonds, currencies, energy, metals, grains, softs, meats and crypto/VIX, each pinned to its CFTC contract code (so a renamed or look-alike contract can never be mixed in), then enrich each row with the front-month futures price (latest daily close, Yahoo Finance); rows marked † use a spot proxy (Dollar Index, VIX). The COT Index is computed from that contract’s 26 most recent weekly reports each time the page revalidates, and is withheld when fewer than 26 are available. A contract that missed the latest report is marked stale and its flags are suppressed.
In the MTS framework
COT sits in Space on this terminal (since 29 Sep 2026): positioning is a fundamental read, not a timing tool. It frames the crowd. A thesis that aligns with already-stretched speculative positioning carries poor risk-reward — the move you want may be the move that’s ending. A thesis that runs against an over-extended crowd, confirmed by Motion structure and timed by Time, is where the asymmetry lives. The MTS Confluence page scores each major’s COT read from the commercials’ multi-week trend.