CFTC or COT
On this page you can find articles on CFTC reports in trading that may serve you as an additional, simple and reliable tool when looking for market entry points.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission or CFTC is the organization that collects information on the actions of professional traders.
Commitment of traders reports (COT) published by CFTC, contain information on large market participants’ actions.
Major market participants influence movements occurring in the financial markets, since they have the potential to change the balance of supply and demand and thereby it causes changes in prices. Information shown in CFTC reports demonstrates the reasons for the formation of price movements.
Since reports are published once a week, the most valuable data will be for those traders and investors who analyze charts and open trades on crucial timeframes (Daily, and H4).
COT report. CFTC education
CFTC COT report is kind of the filter that helps identify the best market entry points and determine the time where one should leave the market by closing previously opened positions. Since the most profitable and reliable trading strategies are pullbacks and breakouts (to a lesser extent), the information in these reports lets us determine more correctly:
- «false» breakouts (to avoid entry points that seem attractive at first)
- possible market exit direction from a narrow price range (flats or triangles) to find such entry points beforehand and get the best price when opening a position
- the strength and stability of market trends (expressed in the major players’ opinion on)
- entry points (when large players’ opinion corresponds to the market technical picture)
You can also watch «Trading with professionals» course dedicated to CFTC education.
CFTC report explained
CFTC report is a table that shows the statistics of actions of market participants. We can find here trades of 2 groups – speculators (non-commercial) and hedgers (commercial). CFTC reports also represent the positions of small traders (Nonreportable Positions) that are almost useless since their actions are unpredictable.
Cot net position indicator provides clear showing of the opinion of major market participants on the markets in the dynamics that enables to make the right decision. Barchart.com and tradingview.com websites provide such opportunity