Chartered Market Technician (CMT) Practice Exam 2025 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The Commitment of Traders (COT) report provides a detailed summary of the positions held by various categories of traders in the futures markets, specifically highlighting the buying and selling activities conducted by commercials (professional traders, such as producers and merchants) and large speculators (non-commercial traders). This report is published weekly by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and offers insights into how different market participants are positioned, which can be useful for gauging market sentiment and potential future price movements.

By focusing on the positions held by these groups, the COT report helps investors understand the dynamics of market supply and demand, as well as the potential influence of large players on price trends. This information can be particularly valuable for traders looking to identify potential reversals or continuations in the market based on significant shifts in the positions of commercials and large speculators.

Options that center on individual investors, daily market movements, or only retail trader sentiment do not capture the essence of the COT report's purpose or content. The primary focus of the COT is on institutional and professional trader positions, making the selection about buying and selling by commercials and large speculators the most accurate representation of what the report summarizes.