The CFTC Commitments of Traders report is one of the most powerful datasets in retail trading, and one of the least used, because in raw form it's a spreadsheet that takes 30 minutes to parse into anything actionable. MRKT Edge processes the full COT dataset every week and surfaces the signals that matter: positioning extremes, divergences between smart money and retail, and the contrarian setups that develop at sentiment extremes.
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The COT report publishes every Friday at 3:30pm EST, covering positions as of the previous Tuesday. Extracting useful signals from the raw data requires downloading a CSV, filtering by asset, calculating net positioning for each participant group, and comparing current readings to historical ranges to identify extremes. MRKT does all of this automatically and presents the output in a single dashboard.
Commercials, large specs, retail, extremes, divergences, and weekly context.
Commercial hedgers are the producers and consumers of the underlying asset, they hedge their real world exposure. When they're heavily net short, it typically means they're locking in current prices because they think the market is overvalued. Large speculators (hedge funds and managed money) are trend followers, they're useful for identifying momentum but dangerous at extremes. Small speculators (retail) are the most useful as a contrarian signal: extreme retail longs historically precede market tops, extreme retail shorts historically precede market bottoms.
Every Friday post release, MRKT updates the full dashboard with the new COT data. Each asset shows current positioning alongside the 52 week range so traders can assess whether current readings are elevated, depressed, or neutral relative to historical norms.
When price is trending higher but large speculator net longs are declining, the divergence signals weakening conviction behind the trend, and historically precedes trend reversals more reliably than either signal alone. MRKT identifies price vs positioning divergences automatically across all covered assets.
MRKT flags when any participant group reaches the top or bottom quartile of their historical positioning range for a given asset. These extremes, when large specs are at a 3 year high net long in gold, or when retail is at a record short in EUR/USD, have historically coincided with elevated reversal probability. They don't predict reversal timing, but they identify when the risk/reward of contrarian positioning is at its best.
From raw CFTC files to a dashboard you can read in seconds.
Raw COT is a spreadsheet, 30+ minutes to parse anything actionable
Manual CSV download, filtering, and net positioning math per asset
No easy view of current vs. historical range
Extremes and price vs positioning divergences easy to miss
Fragmented research across FX, metals, energy, and indices
Full dataset processed weekly, signals surfaced in a single dashboard
Automated net positioning for commercials, large specs, and retail
Current positioning vs. 52 week range on every covered asset
Positioning extreme flags and divergence detection built in
FX, precious metals, energy, ags, equity index futures, and bonds in one place
Futures positioning across major asset classes.
| Asset Category | Specific Assets |
|---|---|
| FX (Currency Futures) | EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, CHF, NZD vs USD |
| Precious Metals | Gold (GC), Silver (SI) |
| Energy | WTI Crude (CL), Natural Gas (NG) |
| Agricultural | Soybeans, Corn, Wheat |
| Equity Index Futures | S&P 500 (ES), NASDAQ 100 (NQ), Dow (YM) |
| Bonds | 10-Year Treasury (ZN), 30-Year (ZB) |
How traders use COT with MRKT each week.
COT data for currency futures is among the most actionable sentiment signal available for retail forex traders. When large specs are at extreme net longs in EUR futures and retail is also heavily long, the classic crowded trade reversal setup is building. MRKT flags these setups automatically each week.
Commercial hedger positioning in gold futures, producers and refiners locking in prices, is the best forward looking demand/supply signal for gold. Extreme commercial net short positions have historically marked gold cycle peaks. MRKT surfaces this signal clearly without requiring the raw CFTC data processing.
Agricultural futures COT data shows producer hedging vs. speculative positioning in soybean, corn, and wheat markets, relevant for both direct commodity traders and those tracking the tariff retaliation dynamics in agricultural exports.
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Forex Trader
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The CFTC Commitments of Traders (COT) report, published weekly, shows the aggregate futures and options positions of three participant groups: commercial hedgers (producers/consumers hedging real world exposure), large speculators (hedge funds and managed money), and small speculators (retail traders). Traders use it to identify positioning extremes, when one group reaches a historically unusual level of bullish or bearish positioning, which historically correlates with elevated reversal probability. It's most useful as a contrarian signal when combined with other analytical inputs.
For forex COT analysis, focus on the large speculator net position (hedge fund sentiment, trend signal at moderate levels, contrarian signal at extremes) and the small speculator net position (retail sentiment, most useful as a pure contrarian signal). When large specs are at a 52 week high net long in EUR futures and small specs are also heavily long, the crowded trade reversal risk is elevated. MRKT presents these readings automatically each week with historical context showing where current positioning sits relative to the past year.
The CFTC publishes the COT report every Friday at 3:30pm EST, covering positions as of the preceding Tuesday. MRKT's dashboard updates automatically after each publication. Because the data has a 3 business day lag (Tuesday positions published Friday), COT is best used for weekly and swing trading time frames rather than intraday positioning.
A COT positioning extreme is when a participant group's net position reaches the top or bottom quartile of its historical range for a given asset. For example, if large speculators are net long EUR futures at the highest level in 3 years, that's an extreme. Extremes don't predict timing of reversals, but they identify when the market is heavily crowded in one direction, which historically reduces the risk/reward of trend following and improves the risk/reward of contrarian positioning.
The CFTC publishes the raw COT data as a CSV file requiring download, filtering, and manual calculation to extract meaningful signals. MRKT processes the full dataset automatically each week and presents: net positioning charts for each participant group, current readings vs. the 52 week historical range, extreme positioning flags, and divergence alerts between price and positioning, all in a single visual dashboard that takes seconds to read, not 30 minutes.
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