COT (Commitments of Traders)
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Definition
A weekly report published by the CFTC showing open positions of major participant categories (commercial hedgers, non-commercial speculators, non-reportables) in US futures markets.
COT (Commitments of Traders) in plain English
The COT report is a weekly "who's holding what" snapshot for US futures markets, published by a government regulator (the CFTC). It sorts traders into groups — big commercial businesses that use these markets to protect against price swings ("hedgers"), large speculators betting on direction, and small players — and shows how many bets each group currently holds. It's a bit like a poll revealing which crowds are leaning bullish or bearish, so you can see whether the deep-pocketed professionals are positioned the same way as the speculative crowd. Traders read it for hints about where the "smart money" is leaning, though it's a lagging weekly snapshot, not a live feed.
Also called: Commitments of Traders
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