Where the big money is positioned in futures this week

The latest Commitments of Traders report shows hedge funds unusually short the euro, light on crude oil, and less short Bitcoin futures than at almost any point in three years. By PYE Markets (@pyemarkets).

Every Friday the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission publishes how different groups of traders are positioned in futures markets. The latest report covers positions on Tuesday 13 October 2026.

The useful number is not the raw position but where it sits against history. On our positioning page each net position gets a 3-year percentile: near 100 means the group is unusually long (or less short than usual); near 0 means unusually short. Extremes describe crowding, not what happens next.

Stock index futures

- S&P 500 E-mini: leveraged funds (hedge funds and trend-followers) were net short 408,726 contracts, the 23rd percentile of the past three years. Asset managers held a net long of 915,835 (41st percentile). - Nasdaq-100 E-mini: leveraged funds were net short 11,593 contracts. That is small for this group, at the 84th percentile, so they are less short than usual. - Russell 2000 E-mini: leveraged funds were net short 91,647 contracts, at the 13th percentile: one of their more bearish positions in small caps over the period.

Hedge-fund shorts in index futures are often hedges against stock portfolios, not outright bets on a fall, which is why we show asset managers' positions alongside them.

Commodities

- Gold: managed money (commodity funds and trend-followers) was net long 107,089 contracts, but that is only the 27th percentile: a lighter long than usual. Commercial producers and merchants were at the 97th percentile. - WTI crude oil: managed money was net long 40,574 contracts, at the 14th percentile, among the lightest positions of the past three years.

Currencies and crypto

- Euro FX: leveraged funds were net short 68,001 contracts, the 1st percentile: their most bearish euro position in the three-year window. Asset managers' net long of 199,918 was at the 12th percentile. - CME Bitcoin futures: leveraged funds were net short 5,844 contracts, yet that sits at the 99th percentile: they have rarely been less short over three years. Asset managers' net long of 3,642 was at the 11th percentile.

How to read this

A crowded position can unwind sharply when the market moves against it, which is why traders watch extremes. But positioning can stay extreme for a long time, and these numbers are a week old by the time they are published. Treat them as context for your own analysis, not as a signal.

The data is from the CFTC's Traders in Financial Futures and Disaggregated reports. Our beginner's lesson on futures explains contracts and margin.

General market information, not investment advice. Figures as published by the CFTC for 13 October 2026.