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COT positioning

Weekly data from the US regulator on how big traders, hedgers and small traders are positioned in futures.

Updated 1 min read

Where: Markets → COT

The COT report (Commitments of Traders) is published every week by the CFTC, the US futures regulator. It shows who holds long and short contracts in each market.

Look at one market

  1. Click COT in the Markets panel.
  2. Pick a sector tab, for example Metals. Only sectors with data appear.
  3. Make sure Single is selected.
  4. Open the instrument picker and choose a contract, for example GC (gold).
  5. Read the cards on top: the net position of each group and its change vs last week.
  6. Scroll down for the charts and the official table.

Net position is long contracts minus short contracts. Open interest is the total of open contracts.

What's on the screen

COT page for gold futures in Single mode
Gold futures in the Legacy report.
  1. Sector tabs: instruments grouped by sector.
  2. Single / Radar: one instrument in detail, or scan the whole sector.
  3. Instrument picker: choose the futures contract.
  4. Released: the last CFTC release and the next publication date.
  5. Net positions over time: the weekly net position of each trader group.
  6. Long vs Short positioning: long and short contracts per group.
Official COT table for gold
The official CFTC table: positions, changes, % of open interest.

FAQ

How often is the data updated?

Once a week. The CFTC collects positions on Tuesday and publishes them a few days later, usually on Friday.

Why is a sector missing?

Only sectors with data appear as tabs.

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