CFTC COT report: definition
Also called: Commitments of Traders · CFTC
The Commitments of Traders report, published every Friday by the US CFTC, details the positions of large players in futures contracts, including currencies, as of the previous Tuesday. Extreme positioning signals a market exposed to a reversal.
The weekly snapshot of positions
Every Friday at 3:30 pm New York time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publishes the breakdown of positions in US futures contracts, including the currency contracts listed on the CME: euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars. The data is as of the previous Tuesday.
The report comes in several formats. The historical (“legacy”) format separates commercials, which hedge a real business, from non-commercials, mostly speculative. The “Traders in Financial Futures” format distinguishes more finely between banks, asset managers and leveraged funds.
How to read it
The most followed indicator is speculators' net position: long contracts minus short contracts. It shows which way the market is already positioned. Its week-on-week change shows whether funds are adding to or trimming their bets.
The most useful signal comes from extremes. When the net position reaches a level rarely seen in several years, most of those who wanted to buy already have, and bad news can trigger a rapid unwind.
Its limits
The data is three days old when published. Futures represent only a small part of the currency market, which is mostly traded over the counter. And extreme positioning can stay extreme for months: it is a risk indicator, not an entry signal.
Frequently asked questions
- Where can I find the COT report for free?
- On the CFTC website, as raw tables, or formatted currency by currency on this site's Markets page.
- Are euro positions against the dollar?
- Yes. The contracts listed on the CME are denominated against the dollar: a net long position in the euro contract amounts to a bet on EUR/USD rising.
This page explains a concept; it is not investment advice. Leveraged currency trading carries a high risk of losing capital.
