Positioning guide
How to read gold COT reports without overreading them
Understand CFTC report dates, trader categories, longs, shorts, spreading, open interest, and the limits of futures-position data.
What changed
The guide now maps every dashboard metric directly to the CFTC Disaggregated Futures Only field used to calculate it.
Why it matters
The same net position can result from rising longs, falling shorts, or both. Those paths carry different information about participation and risk.
- Confirm Tuesday report date.
- Identify futures-only versus futures-and-options.
- Compare net with gross longs, gross shorts, and open interest.
- Normalize cross-metal comparisons for contract size.
Historical context
Precious-metals markets mix a globally traded raw material, manufactured investment products, and retail distribution. The price of the metal and the price a buyer actually pays can therefore diverge for long periods.
What could change the conclusion
Trader classifications are broad and positions can hedge exposures elsewhere. A category’s apparent directional bet may be only one leg of a larger strategy.
Reproducible by design
Methodology and limitations
- Gold contract code: 088691.
- Managed-money net = long − short.
- Use a consistent history for percentile calculations.
Educational information only. GoldKnows does not provide individualized investment, tax, legal, appraisal, custody, or trading advice.
Evidence ledger