What is the COT report?

The Commitments of Traders report is a weekly CFTC publication breaking down open interest in US futures markets by trader category — commercial hedgers, large non-commercial speculators and small non-reportable traders.

When is the COT report released?

Every Friday at 3:30pm Eastern, covering positions as of the close of the previous Tuesday. That three-day lag is why it is used for context rather than entries.

How do you read COT data for forex?

Focus on the non-commercial net position and its weekly change. Rising net longs alongside rising price confirms a trend; net positioning at a historic extreme warns that the trade is crowded and vulnerable.

Is there a COT report for currency pairs?

No — contracts are quoted against the dollar individually. To get a pair view you have to compare the two currencies' positioning against each other, which is exactly what this screen does.

What does non-commercial mean in the COT report?

Non-commercial traders are large speculators such as hedge funds and CTAs who trade for profit rather than to hedge a commercial exposure. They are the group most often described as smart money.

FX TERMINAL

COT Analysis

COT data is published per currency futures contract, never per FX pair — so this screen analyses both legs of a pair separately and compares them. See net long, net short, net position and the weekly change for non-commercial, commercial and non-reportable traders in each currency, the combined bias that positioning implies for the pair, positioning trends over time, and the same metrics ranked across all eight majors.

Latest CFTC speculative positioning by currency

In the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for 18 August 2026, large speculators held their largest net long in MXN at +79,452 contracts and their largest net short in CAD at -158,166 contracts. Figures are non-commercial net positions in currency futures, tracked by FX Terminal.

Latest CFTC speculative positioning by currency — as of 18 August 2026 (futures contracts)
Currency	Large-spec net	Open interest
MXN	+79,452	284,591
USD	+19,079	47,928
CHF	-27,278	113,749
NZD	-32,620	89,153
AUD	-44,159	288,526
JPY	-52,893	380,811
GBP	-54,573	286,371
EUR	-59,088	804,940
CAD	-158,166	359,585

Source: CFTC Commitments of Traders. Data as of 18 August 2026. This is a static snapshot taken when the page was published — open the terminal above for the live, interactive version.

Both legs of the pair, analysed separately

The CFTC publishes Commitments of Traders data per currency futures contract, never per FX pair. Most tools ignore that and show you one side. This screen analyses both legs — the base currency and the quote currency — then compares them to derive what positioning actually implies for the pair.

For each currency you get net long, net short, net position and the weekly change for non-commercial (large speculators), commercial (hedgers) and non-reportable (small traders) categories, positioning trends over time, and the same metrics ranked across all eight majors. The dollar is represented through the DXY contract.

How to trade the COT report

COT is a weekly, lagged snapshot published each Friday for the preceding Tuesday — it is a positioning gauge, not a timing tool. Two things make it useful: the rate of change, because speculators adding aggressively signal conviction; and the extreme, because record net positioning is fuel for a violent unwind when the story turns.

Large speculators are trend followers and are usually right in the middle of a move and wrong at the end. Commercials hedge underlying business flow and sit on the other side. When speculative positioning reaches a multi-year extreme while price stalls, the reversal risk is at its highest.

Frequently asked questions

What is the COT report?: The Commitments of Traders report is a weekly CFTC publication breaking down open interest in US futures markets by trader category — commercial hedgers, large non-commercial speculators and small non-reportable traders.
When is the COT report released?: Every Friday at 3:30pm Eastern, covering positions as of the close of the previous Tuesday. That three-day lag is why it is used for context rather than entries.
How do you read COT data for forex?: Focus on the non-commercial net position and its weekly change. Rising net longs alongside rising price confirms a trend; net positioning at a historic extreme warns that the trade is crowded and vulnerable.
Is there a COT report for currency pairs?: No — contracts are quoted against the dollar individually. To get a pair view you have to compare the two currencies' positioning against each other, which is exactly what this screen does.
What does non-commercial mean in the COT report?: Non-commercial traders are large speculators such as hedge funds and CTAs who trade for profit rather than to hedge a commercial exposure. They are the group most often described as smart money.

Related tools

Data sources

FX Terminal provides free market research and analysis for informational purposes only. Nothing here is investment advice or a recommendation to trade. Trading forex carries a high level of risk.