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Futures positioningCOMEX · Weekly CFTC report

GC Commitment of Traders (COT): Gold Futures Positioning

A contract-specific view of managed money positioning in Gold 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, managed money are net long 142K GC contracts (34.87% of open interest). Positioning moved 4k toward long from the prior report and is near the middle of its three-year range.

Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-08-18 · Open ↓
Source
CFTC Disaggregated; COMEX continuous futures price via TradeStation
Methodology
Longs minus shorts for Managed Money; 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 · GC positioning2026-08-18
GC net long

Managed Money hold 142K net long contracts. Near the middle of its three-year range; the latest week moved 4k toward long.

Net position
+142K
Net % of OI
34.87%
Long contracts
+155K
Short contracts
+13K
Positioning describes the crowd; it does not predict the next price move.
01

GC net positioning and futures price

The red line is the actual managed money 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:
Managed Money net contracts (left)GC 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
4K toward long
Since 2026-08-11
Four weeks
17K toward long
Since 2026-07-21
Thirteen weeks
48K toward long
Since 2026-05-19
Three-year most short
−27K
2023-10-10
Three-year most long
+219K
2024-09-24
03

How to interpret GC positioning

Managed-money GC positioning is a useful measure of speculative participation in gold. Crowded longs can persist through strong trends, so positioning is best read with price direction and weekly changes rather than faded mechanically.

  • Level: +142K net contracts is the actual reported position.
  • Stretch: Near the middle of its three-year 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 GC COT Positioning Works

  1. 1
    Read the actual position
    Managed Money longs minus shorts gives the current net GC 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 GC 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?▾
Managed-money GC positioning is a useful measure of speculative participation in gold. Crowded longs can persist through strong trends, so positioning is best read with price direction and weekly changes rather than faded mechanically.
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 GC Commitment of Traders position?▾
As of the August 18, 2026 CFTC report, managed money are net long 142K GC contracts (34.87% of open interest). Positioning moved 4k toward long from the prior report and is near the middle of its three-year range.
Who does this GC COT page track?▾
The headline series tracks Managed Money in the CFTC Disaggregated report for Gold futures. Long and short contract counts are reported separately; net is longs minus shorts.
Is a large GC short or long a trading signal?▾
No. Managed-money GC positioning is a useful measure of speculative participation in gold. Crowded longs can persist through strong trends, so positioning is best read with price direction and weekly changes rather than faded mechanically. Positioning can remain stretched for months, and the report is delayed because Tuesday positions are normally published Friday.
How often does the GC 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