Crude Oil (WTI) COT Report
CFTC Commitments of Traders · report date 2026-07-21 (released Jul 24, 2026) · next report expected Jul 31, 2026 (regular cycle; see the release schedule for holiday shifts)
As of the Jul 21, 2026 COT report, large speculators are net long 81,689 Crude Oil (WTI) futures contracts (up 19,006 week-over-week), commercials are net short 108,601, and open interest is 1,864,487 contracts.
81,689
Large speculators net
-108,601
Commercials net
13.5
COT index (3-year)
1,864,487
Open interest
Positioning — week of 2026-07-21
| Trader category | Net position | Weekly change | % of open interest | COT index 26w | COT index 52w | COT index 3y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large speculators | 81,689 | +19,006 | 4.4% | 11.1 | 21.6 | 13.5 |
| Commercials | -108,601 | -23,513 | -5.8% | 87.7 | 75.8 | 83.6 |
| Small traders | 26,912 | +4,507 | 1.4% | 27.5 | 50.4 | 54.1 |
Net = long − short (spread positions cancel). COT index: 0 = most net-short of the lookback, 100 = most net-long. How it's computed.
Net positions since 1986
Disaggregated breakdown — week of 2026-07-21
| Category | Net position | Weekly change |
|---|---|---|
| Producer/merchant | 383,350 | -15,948 |
| Swap dealers | -491,951 | -7,565 |
| Managed money | 63,979 | +2,005 |
| Other reportables | 17,710 | +17,001 |
| Small traders | 26,912 | +4,507 |
Recent history
| Report date | Open interest | Large spec net | Δ | Commercial net | Δ | Small trader net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-21 | 1,864,487 | 81,689 | +19,006 | -108,601 | -23,513 | 26,912 |
| 2026-07-14 | 1,875,496 | 62,683 | -13,066 | -85,088 | +19,534 | 22,405 |
| 2026-07-07 | 1,905,761 | 75,749 | -34,782 | -104,622 | +35,526 | 28,873 |
| 2026-06-30 | 1,914,443 | 110,531 | -4,102 | -140,148 | +12,458 | 29,617 |
| 2026-06-23 | 1,911,877 | 114,633 | -9,850 | -152,606 | +12,733 | 37,973 |
| 2026-06-16 | 2,007,709 | 124,483 | -5,818 | -165,339 | +5,387 | 40,856 |
| 2026-06-09 | 2,006,635 | 130,301 | -25,573 | -170,726 | +17,383 | 40,425 |
| 2026-06-02 | 2,025,180 | 155,874 | -5,124 | -188,109 | +7,364 | 32,235 |
| 2026-05-26 | 2,003,795 | 160,998 | -11,582 | -195,473 | +4,936 | 34,475 |
| 2026-05-19 | 2,002,950 | 172,580 | +2,703 | -200,409 | -4,275 | 27,829 |
| 2026-05-12 | 2,081,927 | 169,877 | -8,909 | -196,134 | +10,016 | 26,257 |
| 2026-05-05 | 2,067,827 | 178,786 | -13,125 | -206,150 | +13,504 | 27,364 |
| 2026-04-28 | 2,017,038 | 191,911 | -391 | -219,654 | +7,057 | 27,743 |
| 2026-04-21 | 1,984,747 | 192,302 | -14,239 | -226,711 | +20,224 | 34,409 |
| 2026-04-14 | 2,094,492 | 206,541 | +4,388 | -246,935 | -16,469 | 40,394 |
| 2026-04-07 | 2,037,857 | 202,153 | -11,335 | -230,466 | +14,625 | 28,313 |
| 2026-03-31 | 2,030,970 | 213,488 | -20,132 | -245,091 | +21,919 | 31,603 |
| 2026-03-24 | 2,002,065 | 233,620 | +14,932 | -267,010 | -4,381 | 33,390 |
| 2026-03-17 | 2,081,576 | 218,688 | -9,327 | -262,629 | +13,818 | 43,941 |
| 2026-03-10 | 2,051,321 | 228,015 | +55,865 | -276,447 | -54,120 | 48,432 |
| 2026-03-03 | 2,073,033 | 172,150 | -562 | -222,327 | -5,544 | 50,177 |
| 2026-02-24 | 2,102,705 | 172,712 | +31,369 | -216,783 | -35,154 | 44,071 |
| 2026-02-17 | 2,087,493 | 141,343 | +23,529 | -181,629 | -25,763 | 40,286 |
| 2026-02-10 | 2,070,538 | 117,814 | -6,751 | -155,866 | -3,367 | 38,052 |
| 2026-02-03 | 2,091,314 | 124,565 | +27,583 | -152,499 | -37,451 | 27,934 |
| 2026-01-27 | 2,035,649 | 96,982 | +18,190 | -115,048 | -18,001 | 18,066 |
Full history, no login: CSV (1986-01-15 → 2026-07-21) · JSON
Contract facts
(CONTRACTS OF 1,000 BARRELS)
Contract unit (CFTC)
CL
Ticker
NYMEX
Exchange
067651
CFTC contract code
FAQ
- Are large speculators long or short Crude Oil (WTI) futures?
- As of the 2026-07-21 COT report, large speculators (non-commercial traders) are net long 81,689 contracts in Crude Oil (WTI) futures.
- How current is this Crude Oil (WTI) COT data?
- The latest report is dated 2026-07-21 (positions as of that Tuesday's close), published by the CFTC on 2026-07-24. This page updates within minutes of each weekly release.
- Where can I download Crude Oil (WTI) COT history?
- The full weekly series (1986-01-15 to 2026-07-21) is free at /data/cot/crude-oil.csv — no login, no cap.
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Source: CFTC Commitments of Traders, legacy futures-only report, contract code 067651. Dataset coverage 1986-01-15 → 2026-07-21. Methodology.