Traders can use the report to help them determine which positions they should take in their trades, whether that’s a short or a long position. One thing the report does not do is categorize individual traders’ positions because of legal restraints. This is part of confidential business practices, according to the commission. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Futures Administration issued an annual report outlining hedging and speculation activities in the futures market. sasol mining In the 1990s, the report moved to a bi-weekly publication before going weekly in 2000. The Asset Manager/ Intermediary Classification includes pension & mutual funds, endowments, insurance businesses and investment managers with mainly institutional customers.
Open Interest Data
One should not get hung up on individual categories and focus on net positions (long minus short positions) for each group. A large net long position by non-commercials suggests a bullish bias, while a large net short position might indicate a bearish outlook. The supplemental report is the one that outlines 13 specific agricultural commodity contracts. This report shows a breakdown of open interest positions in three different categories.
It breaks down the open-interest positions of all major contracts that have more than 20 traders. The legacy COT simply shows the market for a commodity broken into long, short, and spread positions for non-commercial traders, commercial traders, and non-reportable positions (small traders). The Supplemental COT Report is specialized on agriculture commodity assets. The report classifies the different market participants into Commercial, Non-commercial and Index Traders. Open interest held or controlled by a trader is referred to as that trader’s position. For the COT Futures-and-Options-Combined report, option open interest and traders’ option positions are computed on a futures-equivalent basis using delta factors supplied by the exchanges.
Categories
This means that an oil company with a small hedge and a much larger speculative trade on crude will have both positions show up in the commercial category. Simply put, even the disaggregated data is too aggregated to be said to accurately represent the market. On the other hand, the Non-commercial Traders are the Large Speculators. That includes all traders that are not getting classified as commercial traders. Classical Non-Commercial Traders are Hedge Funds and Investment Banks. Standalone long and short positions in their self do not give many insights about the overall positioning of a market participant.
Analyze changes over time
However, it is crucial to exercise caution, as these extremes may persist for extended periods. The COT report should not be used solely for short-term trading signals. Confirmation from other indicators is necessary to identify potential trend shifts. https://www.investec.com/ Extreme readings in net positions (either very high longs or shorts) can indicate a market nearing a turning point. However, these extremes can persist for a while, and the COT report shouldn’t be used for short-term trading signals.
Reports Dated February 11, 2025 – Current Disaggregated Reports:
- MarketBulls provides you the graphical and tabular real time and historical Commitments of Traders Legacy Report for each asset above.
- For deeper insights you can use our free Cot index, which puts the net positions in perspective to the extremes of the period.
- Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology.
- It is used by many futures traders as a market signal on which to trade.
- The CFTC receives the data from the reporting firms on Wednesday morning and then corrects and verifies the data for release by Friday afternoon.
To help you analyze important trends and movements using the Commitment of Traders reports, Tradingster.com provides up-to-date COT reports (including COT reports’ historical data) and free COT charts. The long and short open interest shown as "Nonreportable Positions" is derived by subtracting total long and short "Reportable Positions" from the total open interest. Accordingly, for "Nonreportable Positions," the number of traders involved and the commercial/non-commercial classification of each trader are unknown. Extreme readings in net positions within the COT report can signal a potential market reversal.
COT Data Release Delayed
In most of these markets the majority of the open interest in these "speculator" positions are held by traders whose positions are large enough to meet reporting requirements. The concentration ratios are shown with trader positions computed on a gross long and gross short basis and on a net long or net short basis. The "Net Position" ratios are computed after offsetting each trader’s equal long and short positions. COT reports are based on position data supplied by reporting firms (FCMs, clearing members, foreign brokers, and exchanges). While the position data is supplied by reporting firms, the actual trader category or classification is based on the predominant business purpose self-reported by traders on the CFTC. The Nonreportable Positions are just the difference between the positions of reported traders and the long and short open interest of a future.
THE COMMITMENT OF TRADERS (COT) REPORT
This captured data allows analysts to assess market sentiment and positioning. By understanding which types of traders (such as commercials, speculators. etc.) hold large long or short positions, the traders reports can provide clues about potential future market movements. The COT reports are based on position data supplied by reporting firms (FCMs, clearing members, foreign brokers and exchanges).
The CIT Report has data available back to January 3, 2006, and both the Disaggregated Reports and Trader in Financial Futures reports have data back to June 13, 2006. Because of resource constraints, we are currently only able to release this report once a week. The Division of Market Oversight has prepared the following responses to questions regarding Commitments of Traders reports (COT Reports) published by the Commission. The responses to these FAQs reflect only the views of DMO staff, and not necessarily those of the Commission or any other branch or division. The Commission has neither approved nor disapproved of these FAQs, and they have no legal force or effect, do not alter or amend applicable law, and do not create any new or additional obligations for any person. A rising open interest alongside increasing net longs by a particular group could signal stronger conviction and potentially larger price movements.
The COT report can be employed to confirm or challenge existing analyses derived from technical indicators or fundamental https://www.tradingview.com/ data. For instance, if technical analysis suggests a potential uptrend, a rise in net long positions by commercials in the trader’s COT report would strengthen this bullish outlook. The COT provides an overview of what the key market participants think and helps determine the likelihood of a trend continuing or coming to an end.
