Using the COT Report in Forex Trading

So, when you find that their positions on a certain futures contract are reversing, and a reversal might be imminent on the underlying asset. This use of the COT report is similar to how you might use a sentiment indicator, such as the Current Ratio FXSSI indicator, in a forex sentiment analysis. So, it is difficult to accurately track the volumes behind all forex trades. It is also harder to know what the big banks, the large speculators, and other market drivers, are doing. But with the COT report, forex traders can have an insight into these pieces of info. When graphically shown on charts, you actually see what is referred to as the Net Traders Positions which is the actual difference between the number of long positions held by each group minus the number of short positions.

To be fair, some commercials in Forex might exit the peso short contract by covering (buying it back) if they see an important rising trend, but trying to improve profit margins via currencies is not their core business. While the volumes seen in futures are just a drop in the bucket in the $7.5 trillion per day traded in spot foreign exchange, the COT report offers rare insight into positioning. If X percent of traders hold a long in a currency on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), then logic follows that those in the spot market may have a similar position. If positions become extended (overbought or oversold) on the CME, then it is likely that positions are extended in the trading community as a whole. Some analysts look at the dollar equivalent holdings of the seven major currencies (EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, NZD) to gauge overall sentiment towards the dollar.

Using the COT Report in Forex Trading

The aggregate of all long open interest is equal to the aggregate of all short open interest. The long and short open interest shown as „Nonreportable Positions“ is derived by subtracting total long and short „Reportable Positions“ from the total open interest. Accordingly, for „Nonreportable Positions,“ the number of traders involved and the commercial/non-commercial classification of each trader are unknown. Open interest is the total of all futures and/or option contracts entered into and not yet offset by a transaction, by delivery, by exercise, etc.

• Use the ‘search function’ of your browser to bring up the ‘search box.’ Type the currency you want to analyze.
• If commercial and non-commercial long positions are both growing, for example, that is a bullish signal for the price of the underlying commodity.
• Perhaps players were heavily long euros instead and now are squaring up.

This reveals the size of outstanding positions for various players as of the preceding Tuesday. A COT Report Indicator that shows the Data commitment of traders report forex for both currencies (base- and quotecurrency). The table shows the Net-Contracts, Long and Short Percentage of the latest report.

The Effects Of Bond Yields On The Forex Asset Classes

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, „each Tuesday’s open interest for futures and options on futures markets in which 20 or more traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels established by the CFTC.“ The COT reports provide a breakdown of each Tuesday’s open interest for futures and options on futures markets in which 20 or more https://g-markets.net/ traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels established by the CFTC. The category called „dealer/intermediary,“ for instance, represents sellside participants. Typically, these are dealers and intermediaries that earn commissions on selling financial products, capturing bid/offer spreads and otherwise accommodating clients.

The COT report can serve as a powerful forex volume indicator when you use it rightly. Since CFTC releases the weekly report every Friday for all trades recorded before Tuesday, you can only use it for long-term trades. The COT data is from Tuesday, and is released Friday by the CFTC.

The long version of a COT report, in addition to the information in the short report, groups the data by crop year, where appropriate, and shows the concentration of positions held by the largest four and eight traders. Traders can use the report to help them determine which positions they should take in their trades, whether that’s a short or a long position. One thing the report does not do is categorize individual traders‘ positions because of legal restraints. This is part of confidential business practices, according to the commission. It is a requirement of the CFTC that the largest futures traders in the world must report their positions.

Where Do You Find a COT Report?

The important thing you are looking for is when the position of either commercials or speculators gets proportionately large, compared to recent data, at which point the professionals think it is “extended” or overdone. This is often, if not always, a reliable guide to a pending turning point. COT reports are used by many speculative traders to help making decisions on whether to take a long or short position.

• Because flow data can be deceptive and because many players do not have access to these flows, traders look for any gauge that offers insight into which way the market is leaning.
• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) publishes the Commitments of Traders (COT) reports to help the public understand market dynamics.
• He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
• Open interest is the total of all futures and/or option contracts entered into and not yet offset by a transaction.
• Some analysts look at the dollar equivalent holdings of the seven major currencies (EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, NZD) to gauge overall sentiment towards the dollar.

Another excellent tool, is the Commitment of Traders Analysis from DailyFX. This weekly report provides analysis of the CFTC report, showing the positioning of forex futures trades with a synopsis of the key flips in positioning. Examples of these non-commercial traders include hedge funds, trading advisors, and other huge financial institutions. The COT report’s results can be used as a tool to give traders a better understanding of the psychology of the marketplace, the net position of the commercials in the market and the net position of the large traders. Large traders (funds) are typically trend-followers and will add or liquidate their positions depending on the technical action of the market since the release date of the report. There are many different ways to analyze the reports, but we believe that for the most part the large traders’ net position and “change in position” over a two week period are the most important numbers to watch.

The Correlation Between The Stock and Forex Markets

When there is a rise in the open interest of an asset, it means more people are trading the futures contract of the asset. Traders tend to look at the seven major currencies (yen, euro, Swiss franc, sterling, Aussie, New Zealand, and Canadian dollars) both individually and as a whole. This script marks the last Friday of the month in a daily chart because this is the day when BTC and ETH options expire according to Deribit.

These categories include non-commercial, commercial, and index traders. From the report located above, the number of funds off-loading the JPY shorts increased dramatically from the week prior. When this type of shift from major funds is observed, traders can look for other signs that show the prior trend is losing steam which could indicate a possible exit of open positions. Further validated by the technical indicators used in the chart – RSI and 100-day moving average which both signal a bearish bias. Non-commercial traders are large speculators who already have a lot of money in the bank, but want to make some more by trading the futures market. It is a report that contains a weekly overview of how participants of the futures markets in the U.S. have traded.

Before we dive into how to use the Commitment of Traders report as a forex trader, you have to first know WHERE to go to get the COT report and HOW to read it. The Legacy and Disaggregated reports are available in both a short and long format. Instead, use it in combination with your technical analysis tools to help you get the best out of it. To use the COT Report as a volume indicator, keep your eyes on the open interest numbers of an asset.

By watching the behavior of these players, you’ll be able to foresee incoming changes in market sentiment. We recommend that you seek independent financial advice and ensure you fully understand the risks involved before trading. As you can see, the currency pair just came from a downtrend and is making a reversal to the uptrend at about the same time. There are two ways to use the COT report to spot potential reversals in the forex market. These are institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, mutual funds and those portfolio/investment managers whose clients are predominantly institutional.

In addition to user-unfriendliness, the other big drawback to the COT report is that it is nearly a week late by the time you get the data. The report contains data collected each Tuesday and if there was a giant move on Wednesday and Thursday, by the time you get the report on Friday, the information could well be stale and not a good guide. Interest rates are the fundamental drivers that set the tone for long-term macro price movements. What you’re looking for are the major currencies like the USD, EUR, GBP, and so on. This is meant to provide a clearer picture of what the people with skin in the game—the users of the actuals—think about the market versus the people with profit motivations or speculators. The disaggregated COT report is, in part, a response to some of the criticism of the legacy COT.