So . I was reading Ducs post about COT data. (commitment of traders)
This is futures trading data , in this case Gold contract (GC)
It show the long and short positions of the different categories of traders on the futures exchanges.
I had considered looking into this a while ago , but totally forgot about it.
I trade (try to trade ) spot gold (XAU/USD)
The COT give valuable info on where the big money is positioned.
It is published on Friday afternoon at 3:30 according to The USCFTC (commodities trading mob)
Anyway the data shows positions of producers .......here it is copy and pasted
Producer/Merchant/Processor/User A “producer/merchant/processor/user” is an entity that predominantly engages in the production, processing, packing or handling of a physical commodity and uses the futures markets to manage or hedge risks associated with those activities. Swap Dealer A “swap dealer” is an entity that deals primarily in swaps for a commodity and uses the futures markets to manage or hedge the risk associated with those swaps transactions. The swap dealer’s counterparties may be speculative traders, like hedge funds, or traditional commercial clients that are managing risk arising from their dealings in the physical commodity.
Money Manager A “money manager,” for the purpose of this report, is a registered commodity trading advisor (CTA); a registered commodity pool operator (CPO); or an unregistered fund identified by CFTC.7 These traders are engaged in managing and conducting organized futures trading on behalf of clients. Other Reportables Every other reportable trader that is not placed into one of the other three categories is placed into the “other reportables” category. Spreading The Disaggregated COT sets out open interest by long, short, and spreading for the three categories of traders—“swap dealers,” “managed money,” and “other reportable.” For the “producer/merchant/processor/user” category, open interest is reported only by long or short positions. “Spreading” is a computed amount equal to offsetting long and short positions held by a trader. The computed amount of spreading is calculated as the amount of offsetting futures in different calendar months or offsetting futures and options in the same or different calendar months. Any residual long or short position is reported in the long or short column. Inter-market spreads are not considered.
Anyways ,the data Im interested in is the Money Managers , Other reportable , Non Reportable,
in other words the Speculators.
The chart below shows the CMX futures data on a chart for the last 10weeks.
Blue arrows show the close candle of the date the data was collected ,a Tuesday.
Yellow arrow show the close candle of the Friday that the data is published,at 3:30 NY time
the + or - signs show if the Trader group positions were net short=- or net Long +
MM = Money Manager OR = Other reportable NR = Non Reportable ( the little guys)
SN = Speculator Net . This is the total of all the Long positions -Short positions a + means net long a - means net short x number of contracts at close Tuesday
Intersting to see the Money managers were net short -109454 on 9/10/18 and ran for the hills when the Stock markets corrected , next tuesday 16/10/18 they were net short -49382 short 60000 contracts less! No wonder there was a massive bull stampede as they closed there short positions.
data for last Tuesday is not available till monday Due to holidays.
Chart is a little cluttered but Legible.Small chart is a wide view of the 4hr report days marked with arrows