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Gold positioning today

Who holds gold futures this week, and how much did they change? The CFTC's weekly report, read for you: funds, producers and banks, with two years of history.

Education only — from the CFTC Commitments of Traders report (US government data, gold futures on COMEX); not investment advice.

Managed money (funds), net long–
Share of open contracts–
3-year position index–
1-year position index–
Funds' net, 3-year range–
Open contracts (week's change)–
Funds' net position in gold futures, each week for two years (contracts of 100 oz)
Trader groupLongShortNetWeek's change

Open gold in the chart

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What the report is

Every Friday the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) publishes the Commitments of Traders: how the large traders in each US futures market were positioned on the Tuesday before. For gold it splits COMEX futures into managed money (hedge funds and other money managers), producers and merchants (miners, refiners, jewellers hedging their metal), swap dealers (mostly banks) and other large traders. Everything below the reporting limit is "small traders".

How to read it

The funds' net position (long minus short) shows how much of the speculative money leans on higher gold. The 3-year position index puts this week's net between the lowest (0) and highest (100) of the last three years: a reading near 100 means funds hold about as many longs as they have in three years, near 0 the fewest. Producers and swap dealers usually sit on the other side, which is why their net is short.

An example: funds net long 104,000 contracts with an index of 38 means they still lean long, but well below the most they held in three years; a week's change of −2,900 means they trimmed that lean a little.

What it does not tell you

The numbers are three days old when they appear and weekly, so they describe the background, not the next move. Crowded positioning can stay crowded for months. Read it next to the chart, never as a buy or sell call on its own.

سونے میں بڑے ٹریڈرز کی پوزیشن (COT)

امریکی ادارہ CFTC ہر جمعہ کو بتاتا ہے کہ سونے کے فیوچرز میں فنڈز، کان کن کمپنیاں اور بینک کتنے لانگ اور کتنے شارٹ ہیں۔ یہاں فنڈز کی نیٹ پوزیشن، ہفتے کی تبدیلی اور پچھلے تین سال میں اس کا مقام ایک جگہ ہے۔ یہ صرف سیکھنے کے لیے ہے، خرید و فروخت کا مشورہ نہیں۔

See today's moves on the gold price today page and the dollar side on currency strength today.

Questions

When is the gold COT report released?

On Friday at 3:30 pm US Eastern time, with positions from the Tuesday before. Holidays can move it to the next working day.

What is managed money in gold?

Hedge funds, commodity trading advisers and other money managers registered with the CFTC. They trade for profit, not to hedge metal.

Why are swap dealers so short gold?

They are mostly banks on the other side of their clients' long positions and hedges; their short net is the mirror of that business, not a bet on lower prices.

Is a high COT index bearish for gold?

Not by itself. It means funds hold a lot of longs compared with the last three years. Prices can keep rising while positioning stays high.

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