Understanding CFTC Data
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) publishes weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) reports that reveal how different types of market participants are positioned in futures markets. This data is one of the most valuable publicly available sentiment indicators for futures traders.
The CFTC releases three separate report types, each with different trader classifications and market coverage. Understanding which report to use — and what each category represents — is essential for interpreting positioning data correctly.
Legacy
3 categories. All markets. Simplest view of hedger vs. speculator positioning.
Since 1986
Disaggregated
4 categories. Commodities only. Where Managed Money data lives.
Since 2009
TFF
4 categories. Financials only. Dealer vs. Asset Manager vs. Leveraged Funds.
Since 2010
Which Report Should I Use?
For Crude Oil, Gold, Grains, Natural Gas (physical commodities): Use the Disaggregated report for the most granular view, especially Managed Money positioning. The Legacy report works as a simpler alternative.
For S&P 500, Treasuries, Currencies (financial futures): Use the TFF report for institutional vs. leveraged fund positioning. The Legacy report also covers these markets with its simpler classification.
Note: The Disaggregated report does NOT cover financial futures. The TFF report does NOT cover physical commodities. Only Legacy covers everything.
Legacy COT Report
The original COT report format dating back to 1986. Groups traders into three broad categories based on their primary business purpose.
CFTC Dataset ID
6dca-aqww
Coverage
All futures markets (commodities, financials, currencies)
Frequency
Weekly (Tuesday snapshot, released Friday 3:30 PM ET)
Trader Categories
How Legacy COT Report classifies market participants
Commercials
Hedgers — entities that use futures to offset risk in their core business (e.g., oil producers, grain farmers, airlines).
Non-Commercials (Large Speculators)
Entities trading futures for profit, not hedging. Includes hedge funds, CTAs, and large institutional speculators. Must meet CFTC reportable thresholds.
Non-Reportable (Small Speculators)
Positions too small to meet CFTC reporting thresholds. Calculated as Total Open Interest minus Commercials minus Non-Commercials.
Sample Data — WTI Crude Oil (NYMEX)
Most recent reports from CFTC. Showing 22 key fields of 133 total available.
Contract: WTI-PHYSICAL - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE | Units: (CONTRACTS OF 1,000 BARRELS) | Group: NATURAL RESOURCES
| Field | 2026-07-28 | 2026-07-21 | 2026-07-14 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Open Interestopen_interest_all | 1,859,795 | 1,864,487 | 1,875,496 |
| Non-Commercial Longsnoncomm_positions_long_all | 314,992 | 310,182 | 302,429 |
| Non-Commercial Shortsnoncomm_positions_short_all | 194,884 | 228,493 | 239,746 |
| Non-Commercial Spreadsnoncomm_postions_spread_all | 595,417 | 580,934 | 576,997 |
| Commercial Longscomm_positions_long_all | 871,589 | 896,294 | 923,364 |
| Commercial Shortscomm_positions_short_all | 1,030,411 | 1,004,895 | 1,008,452 |
| Non-Reportable Longsnonrept_positions_long_all | 77,797 | 77,077 | 72,706 |
| Non-Reportable Shortsnonrept_positions_short_all | 39,083 | 50,165 | 50,301 |
| Change in Open Interestchange_in_open_interest_all | -4,692 | -11,009 | -30,265 |
| Change in Non-Comm Longschange_in_noncomm_long_all | 4,810 | 7,753 | -15,344 |
| Change in Non-Comm Shortschange_in_noncomm_short_all | -33,609 | -11,253 | -2,278 |
| Change in Comm Longschange_in_comm_long_all | -24,705 | -27,070 | -1,146 |
| Change in Comm Shortschange_in_comm_short_all | 25,516 | -3,557 | -20,680 |
| % of OI: Non-Comm Longspct_of_oi_noncomm_long_all | 16.9 | 16.6 | 16.1 |
| % of OI: Non-Comm Shortspct_of_oi_noncomm_short_all | 10.5 | 12.3 | 12.8 |
| % of OI: Comm Longspct_of_oi_comm_long_all | 46.9 | 48.1 | 49.2 |
| % of OI: Comm Shortspct_of_oi_comm_short_all | 55.4 | 53.9 | 53.8 |
| Total Traderstraders_tot_all | 292 | 284 | 300 |
| Non-Comm Long Traderstraders_noncomm_long_all | 116 | 109 | 110 |
| Comm Long Traderstraders_comm_long_all | 88 | 91 | 97 |
| Top 4 Traders Long %conc_gross_le_4_tdr_long | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| Top 8 Traders Long %conc_gross_le_8_tdr_long | 30 | 30 | 30 |
All Available Fields (133)
Disaggregated COT Report
Introduced in 2009. Provides a more granular breakdown of physical commodity markets by separating traders into four categories. This is where Managed Money (hedge fund) positioning data lives.
CFTC Dataset ID
72hh-3qpy
Coverage
Physical commodity futures only (energy, metals, agriculture — NOT financial futures)
Frequency
Weekly (Tuesday snapshot, released Friday 3:30 PM ET)
Trader Categories
How Disaggregated COT Report classifies market participants
Producer/Merchant/Processor/User
Entities engaged in the production, processing, packing, or handling of the physical commodity. These are true hedgers protecting their business.
Swap Dealers
Entities dealing primarily in swaps and using futures to manage the risk from those swap transactions. Major banks and financial institutions.
Managed Money
Registered commodity trading advisors (CTAs), commodity pool operators (CPOs), and hedge funds. These are the professional speculators — their positioning is a key sentiment signal.
Other Reportables
Every other reportable trader that doesn't fit the above categories. Includes proprietary trading firms and smaller institutional players.
Sample Data — WTI Crude Oil (NYMEX)
Most recent reports from CFTC. Showing 22 key fields of 194 total available.
Contract: WTI-PHYSICAL - NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE | Units: (CONTRACTS OF 1,000 BARRELS) | Group: NATURAL RESOURCES
| Field | 2026-07-28 | 2026-07-21 | 2026-07-14 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Open Interestopen_interest_all | 1,859,795 | 1,864,487 | 1,875,496 |
| Producer/Merchant Longsprod_merc_positions_long | 648,607 | 673,702 | 700,107 |
| Producer/Merchant Shortsprod_merc_positions_short | 296,817 | 290,352 | 300,809 |
| Swap Dealer Longsswap_positions_long_all | 100,460 | 94,804 | 92,414 |
| Swap Dealer Shortsswap__positions_short_all | 611,072 | 586,755 | 576,800 |
| Swap Dealer Spreadsswap__positions_spread_all | 122,522 | 127,788 | 130,843 |
| Managed Money Longsm_money_positions_long_all | 193,959 | 187,469 | 181,161 |
| Managed Money Shortsm_money_positions_short_all | 101,016 | 123,490 | 119,187 |
| Managed Money Spreadsm_money_positions_spread | 258,553 | 273,264 | 272,638 |
| Other Reportable Longsother_rept_positions_long | 121,033 | 122,713 | 121,268 |
| Other Reportable Shortsother_rept_positions_short | 93,868 | 105,003 | 120,559 |
| Change in Prod/Merch Longschange_in_prod_merc_long | -25,095 | -26,405 | 924 |
| Change in Swap Longschange_in_swap_long_all | 5,656 | 2,390 | 3,321 |
| Change in Managed Money Longschange_in_m_money_long_all | 6,490 | 6,308 | -11,952 |
| Change in Managed Money Shortschange_in_m_money_short_all | -22,474 | 4,303 | -9,885 |
| % of OI: Prod/Merch Longspct_of_oi_prod_merc_long | 34.9 | 36.1 | 37.3 |
| % of OI: Swap Longspct_of_oi_swap_long_all | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.9 |
| % of OI: Managed Money Longspct_of_oi_m_money_long_all | 10.4 | 10.1 | 9.7 |
| % of OI: Managed Money Shortspct_of_oi_m_money_short_all | 5.4 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| Prod/Merch Long Traderstraders_prod_merc_long_all | 56 | 57 | 62 |
| Swap Long Traderstraders_swap_long_all | 13 | 12 | 15 |
| Managed Money Long Traderstraders_m_money_long_all | 59 | 54 | 56 |
All Available Fields (194)
Traders in Financial Futures (TFF)
Introduced in 2010 for financial futures only. Breaks down positioning by the role traders play in financial markets — dealers who intermediate, asset managers who invest, and leveraged funds that speculate.
CFTC Dataset ID
gpe5-46if
Coverage
Financial futures only (equity indices, treasuries, currencies — NOT physical commodities)
Frequency
Weekly (Tuesday snapshot, released Friday 3:30 PM ET)
Trader Categories
How Traders in Financial Futures (TFF) classifies market participants
Dealer/Intermediary
Sell-side participants — typically large banks and dealers that make markets and intermediate between buyers and sellers.
Asset Manager/Institutional
Buy-side participants — pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, and mutual funds. These represent long-term institutional positioning.
Leveraged Funds
Hedge funds, CTAs, and proprietary trading firms. These are speculative players using leverage — analogous to Managed Money in the Disaggregated report but for financial futures.
Other Reportables
Reportable traders not assigned to the above categories. Includes corporate treasuries and central banks.
Sample Data — E-mini S&P 500 (CME)
Most recent reports from CFTC. Showing 22 key fields of 87 total available.
Contract: E-MINI S&P 500 - CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE | Units: ($50 X S&P 500 INDEX) | Group:
| Field | 2026-07-28 | 2026-07-21 | 2026-07-14 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Open Interestopen_interest_all | 1,984,408 | 1,939,493 | 1,941,500 |
| Dealer Longsdealer_positions_long_all | 166,101 | 148,984 | 142,914 |
| Dealer Shortsdealer_positions_short_all | 923,295 | 881,849 | 849,691 |
| Dealer Spreadsdealer_positions_spread_all | 53,425 | 51,610 | 66,996 |
| Asset Manager Longsasset_mgr_positions_long | 1,159,241 | 1,143,723 | 1,144,294 |
| Asset Manager Shortsasset_mgr_positions_short | 214,471 | 214,564 | 203,822 |
| Asset Manager Spreadsasset_mgr_positions_spread | 94,411 | 92,974 | 92,603 |
| Leveraged Funds Longslev_money_positions_long | 155,964 | 146,834 | 135,454 |
| Leveraged Funds Shortslev_money_positions_short | 453,440 | 469,699 | 500,456 |
| Leveraged Funds Spreadslev_money_positions_spread | 47,252 | 38,964 | 40,091 |
| Other Reportable Longsother_rept_positions_long | 49,486 | 52,274 | 55,528 |
| Other Reportable Shortsother_rept_positions_short | 52,711 | 49,406 | 55,690 |
| Change in Dealer Longschange_in_dealer_long_all | 17,117 | 6,070 | 6,881 |
| Change in Asset Mgr Longschange_in_asset_mgr_long | 15,518 | -571 | -15,553 |
| Change in Lev Funds Longschange_in_lev_money_long | 9,130 | 11,380 | 522 |
| Change in Lev Funds Shortschange_in_lev_money_short | -16,259 | -30,757 | 3,649 |
| % of OI: Dealer Longspct_of_oi_dealer_long_all | 8.4 | 7.7 | 7.4 |
| % of OI: Asset Mgr Longspct_of_oi_asset_mgr_long | 58.4 | 59.0 | 58.9 |
| % of OI: Lev Funds Longspct_of_oi_lev_money_long | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.0 |
| % of OI: Lev Funds Shortspct_of_oi_lev_money_short | 22.9 | 24.2 | 25.8 |
| Lev Funds Long Traderstraders_lev_money_long_all | 54 | 58 | 51 |
| Asset Mgr Short Traderstraders_asset_mgr_short_all | 35 | 37 | 42 |
All Available Fields (87)