Commitments of Traders (COT) Report

The Commitments of Traders (COT) is a key report published by the CFTC that displays the total long and short positions in the futures market across major asset classes, including Forex currency pairs. The COT is widely used as an indicator to gauge market sentiment and predict future market trends, particularly focusing on the positions of non-commercial traders.

• The COT report provides insights into trend reversals, extreme positions, and potential market exhaustion by tracking historical data.

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ℹ️ What is the Commitments of Traders Report?

The Commitments of Traders (COT) is a weekly report that shows the total holdings of commercial and non-commercial participants in the US futures market. The COT was first issued in 1962, covering 13 popular agricultural commodities. Originally released monthly, it has been published weekly since 2000. The report is available for all actively traded futures contracts, including stock indices, interest rates, and currencies.

■ The Commitments of Traders provides a breakdown of total futures positions for three types of market participants:

1️⃣ Non-commercial traders / large speculators (hedge funds, trading firms, and institutional speculators)

2️⃣ Commercial Forex traders/hedgers (users/producers trading primarily to hedge risk)

3️⃣ Small speculators (the extremes of their positions are contrarian signals)

■ There are COT reports for several asset classes, including:

❶ Stock Indices Futures (S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ, Russel 2000, and S&P Mid-cap)

❷ Commodity Futures (agricultural, precious metals, and energy)

❸ Currency Futures (the US Dollar against the Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Australian Dollar, Mexican Peso, and Russian Ruble)

❹ Cryptocurrency Futures (Bitcoin and Ethereum)

❺ Interest Rate Futures (1 month to 30 years)

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🗓️ COT Report Release Dates

The report is released weekly, every Friday at 3:30 EST, showing the aggregate commitments of traders from the previous Tuesday. For example, this was the COT release schedule for 2025.

Table: COT release schedule for 2025

Month	CFTC's Commitments of Traders (COT) -Calendar Dates 2025
January	6	10	17	24	31
February	7	14	21	28
March	7	14	21	28
April	4	11	18	25
May	2	9	16	23	30
June	6	13	23	27
July	7	11	18	25
August	1	8	15	22	29
September	5	12	19	26
October	3	10	17	24	31
November	7	14	21
December	1	5	12	19	29

👉 Note that these dates are nearly the same every year.

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👥 COT Report –Participants

The COT analysis shows the combined positions of three types of traders:

1️⃣ Non-Commercial Futures Traders (High Importance)

These are mainly large institutional investors (investment companies, hedge funds, etc.) who trade futures contracts for speculation. Their positions are very important for gauging market sentiment.

📌 Extreme positions can show when a trend might be overextended.

2️⃣  Commercial Futures Traders (Medium Importance)

These are producers, consumers, or other companies that use the futures market to hedge against operational risks. For example, a Japanese importer might buy a futures contract to guard against a stronger US Dollar compared to the Japanese Yen.

📌 Typically, these are users or producers of certain commodities who trade to manage risk rather than to speculate.

3️⃣ Non-Reporting Futures Traders (Low Importance)

These are small traders or individual speculators. They are often considered less reliable because they tend to take positions opposite to the upcoming market trend.

📌 Extreme positions of retail traders are considered a strong contrarian signal.

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📊 COT Report -What Can it Show?

The COT report shows all net long and short positions for US futures contracts. The positions of non-commercial traders can indicate the real trend of a major asset class. If most traders are long, the COT reflects a bullish market bias. If most traders are short, it shows a bearish market bias.

Forecasting the Spot Forex Market Using COT Report Readings

COT report readings should be analyzed only in a historical context. This means their value comes from comparing current data with past data and their effects on the spot market. Changes in COT readings can signal potential shifts in the real market trend. Historical graphs are useful for visualizing changes in market sentiment.

Graph: Long & Short Positions of the British Pound (GBP)

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🔗 Related Links:

» CFTC General Commitments of Traders: https://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/CommitmentsofTraders/index.htm

» CME Group Currency Futures COT: https://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/quikstrike/commitment-of-traders.html?pid=350

» Timing Charts: http://www.timingcharts.com/

» Scotia Bank Fx Sentiment Report: https://www.gbm.scotiabank.com/en/market-insights/global-foreign-exchange.html

George Protonotarios, Financial Analyst for TradingCenter.org (c)