Free COT charts vs a graded record
Every free COT chart plots the same thing: the public CFTC positioning data, drawn as a line. That's genuinely useful: it shows you who is long and who is short. What a chart can't tell you is the one thing that matters: what usually happened after the crowd got this one-sided.
What a free chart gives you
Where the crowd is standing this week, and how that has moved over time. cotreport shows this free too, on every market page: the net positioning, the 3-year percentile, the direction. A chart is the right tool for that question.
What a chart leaves out
A chart implies a story: "the crowd is extreme, so it must be about to turn." The data disagrees. Across 1,206 positioning extremes since 2006, a stretched reading reversed about 39.7% of the time within eight weeks, against a ~38% baseline. A crowded chart is a risk state, not a countdown. No free chart tells you that, because it can't see the outcomes.
What a graded record adds
The measurement. For every past extreme in every market, cotreport records whether it reversed, the wait, and the worst it ran against you. Always next to the ordinary-week baseline, and including the strategies that failed. See the full record, the methodology, or start with the COT report explained.
Common questions
Where can I get a free COT chart?
The CFTC publishes the Commitments of Traders report for free every Friday, and several sites plot it as a chart at no cost. cotreport also shows the positioning data free on every market page. A free chart is enough to see who is long and short.
What does a graded COT record add over a free chart?
A free chart shows where the crowd is standing. A graded record shows what happened after: for every past positioning extreme, whether price reversed, how long it took, and how much it ran against you first, measured against a baseline. That is the part free charts leave out.
Is cotreport just another free COT chart site?
No. The positioning data and the chart are free here too. What you pay for is the graded outcomes: 1,206 extremes since 2006, each one measured, with the strategies that failed published alongside. The measurement, not the chart, is the product.
Statistics, not advice · Not affiliated with the CFTC · figures per research release r2