Commitments of Traders (COT) report

The Commitments of Traders (COT) report is the CFTC's weekly breakdown of open interest by category of trader. It is generally published on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time with positions as of the preceding Tuesday, and it comes in legacy, disaggregated, traders in financial futures and supplemental versions.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

What it is

The CFTC glossary describes the report as a weekly breakdown of each Tuesday's open interest for markets in which 20 or more traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels. The CFTC's release page states that it is generally published each Friday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time using data from the immediately preceding Tuesday.

The four versions

COT report types and their trader categories
ReportCoverageCategories
LegacyAll reported markets, by exchangeCommercial, non-commercial (plus non-reportable)
DisaggregatedPhysical commoditiesProducer/merchant/processor/user, swap dealers, managed money, other reportables
Traders in Financial FuturesFinancial contracts such as currencies, Treasuries and equity indicesDealer/intermediary, asset manager/institutional, leveraged funds, other reportables
SupplementalSelected agricultural contracts, futures and options combinedNon-commercial, commercial, index traders

Worked example

Suppose leveraged funds report 250,000 long and 180,000 short contracts in a market. Their net position is 250,000 − 180,000 = +70,000. If the next report shows 240,000 long and 185,000 short, the net is +55,000, a change of -15,000 over the week. That change describes Tuesday-to-Tuesday positions, known three days later.

What it can and cannot tell an order flow trader

  • It gives context on who holds the open interest, not timing.
  • Its data are at least three days old on publication and one week apart.
  • Categories are broad: a 'commercial' may be hedging or taking a view.
  • It says nothing about intraday flow, which is what a footprint or DOM shows.

In Senzoukria

The application does not import or display COT data. Open interest itself appears in the GEX module for options, where it feeds exposure calculations; futures positioning by category has to be read from the CFTC's publications.

Common mistakes

  • Treating a Friday release as a snapshot of Friday's positions.
  • Using COT extremes as entry signals without accounting for the lag.
  • Comparing categories across report types as if they were the same groups.

In the same section

Sources

This page in other languages

Frequently asked questions

When is the COT report released?
The CFTC generally publishes it every Friday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, with positions as of the preceding Tuesday. Holidays can shift the release; the CFTC publishes the schedule.
Which COT report should I read for ES or NQ?
Equity index futures are financial contracts, so the Traders in Financial Futures report gives the most detailed categories for them. The legacy report covers them too with the simpler commercial and non-commercial split.

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