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Free tool guide · COT DataCOT data explained: see where the big institutions are positioned before you trade
Did you know? Every week the biggest traders in the world have to report their positions to a US regulator, and anyone can read it. Most retail traders never look. The COT report shows you which side the big money is on.
COT data shows where the large traders sit, week by week.
What is the COT report?
The Commitments of Traders (COT) report is published by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Traders who hold large positions in US futures markets have to report them. The CFTC adds them up and publishes the totals for each market.
It covers the futures that matter to forex traders: the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and New Zealand dollar, plus gold, silver, oil, stock indices and more.
When does COT data come out?
The report has come out every week, usually on Friday afternoon New York time. The positions in it are as at the Tuesday before, so it is always a few days old by the time you read it.
New: the CFTC has announced it will publish the COT report twice a week. The free COT Data tool updates when each new report comes out.
Who is in the report?
The report splits the open positions in each market into groups of traders. The free COT Data tool shows the groups the way the dashboard labels them:
- Non-Commercial (Institutions): the large funds and speculators. These are the big positions that tend to move a market over weeks and months.
- Commercial: the second reported group, shown next to the institutions so you can compare the two.
Positions too small to report are listed separately in the CFTC tables.
How traders use COT data
- Net position. Longs minus shorts. Are the institutions mostly buying or mostly selling this market?
- The change from last week. Are they adding to the position, or starting to turn? A change often matters more than the level.
- Extremes. When a group is more long or more short than it has been for a long time, the trade may be crowded.
- A check on your own trade. If your chart says sell and the institutions are piling into longs, slow down and look again.
COT data is a weekly, delayed view of positioning. It is not an entry signal. Time your trade on your own chart, and size it so a wrong call does not hurt.
The honest view
Pros
- Official data from a regulator, free to read.
- Shows where the big money sits, not just price.
- Covers currencies, metals, energy and indices.
Cons
- Positions are a few days old when published.
- It covers futures, not the spot forex market.
- It tells you who is positioned where, not when price will move.
The free COT Data tool
The raw CFTC tables are long and hard to read. The free COT Data tool puts them in plain English:
- Who is buying and who is selling in each market, in plain words.
- The change from last week, so you notice when the institutions start to turn.
- Any device. Phone, tablet or computer. Nothing to install, no spreadsheets.
See where the institutions are positioned this week.
Register once and the tool opens straight away. No card, no fee.
Questions people ask
What is COT data?
COT data comes from the Commitments of Traders report published by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It shows how large traders are positioned in US futures markets, including currency futures, gold, oil and stock indices.
Is COT data free?
Yes. The CFTC publishes the report for free. The free COT Data tool on forexrobots.co.za puts it in plain English, so you do not have to read the government tables yourself.
How often is COT data updated?
The report has been published every week, usually on Friday afternoon New York time, with positions as at the Tuesday before. The CFTC has announced a move to publishing twice a week.
Is COT data a buy or sell signal?
No. It is a few days old and it is weekly, so it shows the bigger picture of who is positioned where. Use it to check whether your trade is with or against the big money, then time the trade on your own chart.
Does COT data work for spot forex traders?
Yes, as a guide. The report covers currency futures, not the spot market, but the big positions in euro, pound, yen and other currency futures reflect how the large players see those currencies.
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Forex trading carries risk. Past results do not guarantee future results. This page is education, not financial advice. Alive FX (Pty) Ltd.