How Big Players Are Positioned: Commitments of Traders Report

Most retail traders focus on price. Institutional traders focus on positioning.

The Commitments of Traders report allows traders to see how large market participants are positioned and use that information to better understand market bias and long-term trends.

What Is the Commitments of Traders Report?

The Commitments of Traders report, commonly known as the COT report, is a weekly publication released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In simple terms, the report shows how large traders are positioned in the futures market. It reveals whether institutions such as banks, hedge funds, and corporations are holding net long or net short positions.

Large market participants are required to report their futures exposure once their positions exceed a certain size. This data is then published so traders can better understand institutional positioning and overall market sentiment.

When and Where Is the COT Report Released?

Large traders report their futures positions every Tuesday. The CFTC publishes the compiled data on Friday at 21:30 CET/20:30 CEST.

The official report is available on the CFTC website. Many traders use platforms such as MarketBulls, which present the same data in a clearer and more practical format.

Because the data is released with a delay, the COT report is best suited for medium- to long-term analysis rather than short-term trade entries.

Source: Market Bulls

Who Is Included in the COT Report?

The report divides traders into three main categories:

Commercial Traders

Commercial traders include banks, corporations, and institutions hedging real economic exposure. Due to their role in the underlying economy, they often have strong insight into long-term price behaviour. In healthy trends, commercial positioning usually supports the prevailing market direction.

Large Speculators

Large speculators are hedge funds and professional trading firms focused on profit generation through speculation. They often follow established trends and are frequently positioned in the correct direction, although their exposure can become excessive near major market turning points.

Small Speculators

Small speculators represent retail traders and private investors. Their individual positions are not required to be reported to the CFTC. Historically, this group tends to be positioned poorly at important market extremes.

How to Use the COT Report in Practice

The Commitment of Traders report should be used as a market context tool, not as a standalone trading system.

Effective usage includes:

• Focusing on daily and weekly charts
• Ignoring short-term market fluctuations
• Watching for extreme positioning differences between commercial traders and small speculators
• Combining COT data with technical analysis and macroeconomic factors

This approach helps traders align with institutional bias rather than trade against it. Instead of reacting to short-term price moves, traders gain a clearer view of the broader market direction.

COT Report for Forex and CFD Traders

Although the Commitments of Traders report is based on futures market data, it is highly relevant for Forex and CFD traders. Currency futures closely track spot exchange rates, which means institutional positioning in futures often reflects sentiment in the spot Forex market. The same relationship applies to commodities, metals, and indices, where futures contracts move in line with their CFD counterparts.

Conclusion

The Commitments of Traders report offers rare insight into institutional positioning that is otherwise unavailable to retail traders.

When used correctly, it improves market understanding and helps traders identify sustainable trends and potential turning points. The COT report does not predict where the next candle will close, but it helps traders understand who controls the market.