COT report in gold trading
The COT report is the CFTC's weekly breakdown of gold futures positions by trader type, published Fridays for the prior Tuesday; it shows who holds what.
Also called Commitments of Traders, CFTC positioning report, Disaggregated COT
The Commitments of Traders (COT) report is published by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission every Friday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, showing positions as of the preceding Tuesday. For gold it covers COMEX GC futures and options, split in the disaggregated version into producers and merchants (hedgers), swap dealers (mostly banks), managed money (funds and CTAs) and other reportables, plus small non-reportable traders. The net position of managed money is the figure most commentary refers to as “speculative positioning”.
How it applies to gold trading
Positioning is a measure of how crowded a trade is. When managed money holds a very large net long, most funds that want gold already own it, and the market is vulnerable to long liquidation on bad news; when the net long is small or negative, a positive surprise finds buyers. Traders compare the current net position with its range over the past few years to judge whether positioning is extreme. The weekly change also shows whether a rally was driven by new buying or by short covering.
The report is three days old when published and misses OTC and ETF positions, so it is context for the week ahead, not a timing tool.
A common mistake
Selling gold because managed money is “record long”. Records are set repeatedly in strong trends; positioning is a risk indicator, not a reversal signal on its own.
See also: Managed money, Open interest, COMEX, Gold ETF.
Frequently asked questions
When is the COT report released?
Every Friday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, covering positions as of the previous Tuesday. Holidays shift it by a day.
Which COT category matters most for gold?
Managed money, which captures hedge funds and CTAs, is the group whose net position moves most with the trend and is most watched for crowding. Swap dealers and producers are mostly hedgers on the other side.