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Futures positioningCME · Weekly CFTC report

ES Commitment of Traders (COT): S&P 500 Futures Positioning

A contract-specific view of leveraged funds positioning in E-mini S&P 500 futures: actual longs, shorts and net contracts; share of open interest; weekly changes; and price-aligned history.

This week's reading

As of the August 18, 2026 CFTC report, leveraged funds are net short 281K ES contracts (-13.58% of open interest). Positioning moved 956 toward short from the prior report and is in the long-side third of its range.

Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-08-18 · Open ↓
Source
CFTC Traders in Financial Futures; CME continuous futures price via TradeStation
Methodology
Longs minus shorts for Leveraged Funds; historical position translated against its trailing three-year net range
Updates
Weekly after the CFTC release (normally Friday; positions as of Tuesday)Last: 2026-08-18
Maintained & reviewed by Yuriy Matso — methodology shown on the page.
The answer · ES positioning2026-08-18
ES shorts light

Leveraged Funds hold 281K net short contracts. In the long-side third of its range; the latest week moved 956 toward short.

Net position
−281K
Net % of OI
-13.58%
Long contracts
+166K
Short contracts
+448K
Positioning describes the crowd; it does not predict the next price move.
01

ES net positioning and futures price

The red line is the actual leveraged funds net—not a score. The price overlay answers the useful follow-up: did positioning build with the trend, resist it, or unwind into it?

Range:
Leveraged Funds net contracts (left)ES continuous futures price (right)

Weekly CFTC positions are dated to the Tuesday they describe; the report is normally published Friday. Price is the aligned continuous front-month futures close and is shown for context, not as part of the positioning calculation.

02

What changed, and how stretched is it?

One week
956 toward short
Since 2026-08-11
Four weeks
41K toward long
Since 2026-07-21
Thirteen weeks
120K toward long
Since 2026-05-19
Three-year most short
−516K
2026-06-16
Three-year most long
−189K
2025-03-18
03

How to interpret ES positioning

Leveraged funds are structurally short ES surprisingly often because index futures hedge long cash books and support basis trades. Read changes and historical stretch before treating the raw net as directional conviction.

  • Level: −281K net contracts is the actual reported position.
  • Stretch: In the long-side third of its range translates that level against its own recent history.
  • Timing: Tuesday positions arrive Friday, so COT is weekly context rather than an entry trigger.

How ES COT Positioning Works

  1. 1
    Read the actual position
    Leveraged Funds longs minus shorts gives the current net ES position; open-interest share makes it comparable through time.
  2. 2
    Measure the weekly move
    One-, four-, and thirteen-week changes show whether the crowd is adding risk, reducing it, or merely sitting on an old position.
  3. 3
    Put it beside price
    The aligned ES futures price shows whether positioning confirms the move or diverges from it. Neither relationship is a standalone forecast.

Pro Tips

01
Changes often matter more than levels
A large structural position can be normal. A rapid shift from that baseline can contain more information.
02
Respect the reporting lag
The Friday release describes Tuesday. Never present it as live intraday positioning.

Common Issues & Solutions

Why can the crowd be net short during a rising market?▾
Leveraged funds are structurally short ES surprisingly often because index futures hedge long cash books and support basis trades. Read changes and historical stretch before treating the raw net as directional conviction.
Why not use the normalized 0–100 reading as the answer?▾
A percentile is useful for cross-market comparison, but traders need the actual net, open-interest share, and direction of change first. This page translates the range position into words and keeps the raw contracts visible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current ES Commitment of Traders position?▾
As of the August 18, 2026 CFTC report, leveraged funds are net short 281K ES contracts (-13.58% of open interest). Positioning moved 956 toward short from the prior report and is in the long-side third of its range.
Who does this ES COT page track?▾
The headline series tracks Leveraged Funds in the CFTC Traders in Financial Futures report for E-mini S&P 500 futures. Long and short contract counts are reported separately; net is longs minus shorts.
Is a large ES short or long a trading signal?▾
No. Leveraged funds are structurally short ES surprisingly often because index futures hedge long cash books and support basis trades. Read changes and historical stretch before treating the raw net as directional conviction. Positioning can remain stretched for months, and the report is delayed because Tuesday positions are normally published Friday.
How often does the ES COT report update?▾
Weekly. The CFTC report normally publishes Friday and describes positions held as of the preceding Tuesday. Holiday schedules can shift publication.

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Last updated: 2026-08-18