Commitment of Traders COT Report is published by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trader Commission (CFTC) every Tuesday. It shows the positions of the large speculators and the positions of the hedgers.
How to Use the Commitment of Traders (COT) Report for Trading
One way to use the COT report is to monitor for an extreme in either the long or short positions of the large speculators.
When the number of long positions outnumbered the short positions, it is a good indication of closing long positions or lightening the long positions.
When the number of short positions outnumbered the long positions, it is a good indication of closing short positions or lightening the short positions. It is also good to look for possible long entries using your futures trading system.
We can use the formula (number of long positions/sum of long and short positions) to establish whether there are more long or more short positions.
Futures Commitment of Traders COT Report Heatmap
Above is the COT report heatmap, that is based on the above discussion:
For long/short positions that are 85% or more compared to the total number of positions, the futures contract are colored in RED
For long/short positions that are 70% or more compared to the total number of positions, the futures contract are colored in YELLOW
For the remaining long/short positions, the futures contract are colored in GREEN
Data For Commitment of Traders COT Heatmap
The Commitment of Traders COT report heatmap is consolidated from the COT report for 5 exchanges: Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Commodity Exchange Incorporated, ICE Futures U.S. and New York Mercantile Exchange and is updated every Friday at 3:15PM EST (4.15am Saturday, in Singapore’s time).
Commitment of Traders in One Glance
In one glance, you can tell which markets are “over-heated”, and which markets are going to be “over-heating”, and which markets are comfortably trade-able.
Perhaps it is good to know that large speculators generally take time to close or lighten their positions (i.e. around 1 week), and retail traders have the advantage of closing our positions within a second without anyone noticing. When the knowledgeable retail traders noticed an “over-heated” futures market, he can act faster.
With the commitment of traders COT report futures heatmap as a time-saving tool, you can have more time to trade or design a new trading system for greater profits.
