Copper COT positioning
Managed money is net long 34,890 contracts in Copper futures as of Nov 3, 2026, with positioning at the bottom of its 52-week range. From the weekly CFTC Commitments of Traders report.
Positions as of Tue, Nov 3, 2026 · published Fri, Nov 6, 2026 · Source: CFTC
Managed money trimmed its long position over the past week. That leaves positioning at the very bottom of its 52-week range — an extreme, washed-out reading.
WAVG reads this the same way every week across every market, names the factors behind the bias, and flags when positioning reaches the edge of its 52-week range.
What moves copper positioning
COMEX copper futures (HG) use the same three groups as gold and silver: managed money (hedge funds and CTAs), producers and merchants (miners, smelters, wire and tube makers and metal traders hedging their sales and stocks, and therefore structurally net short), and swap dealers. Unlike gold, copper is above all an industrial metal: most of it ends up in buildings, power and electronics, and vehicles, which is why managed-money positioning is often read as a vote on the global growth cycle.
The biggest single factor is China, which uses more than half of the world's refined copper, so Chinese construction, power-grid and factory data are watched closely. On the supply side, mine output is concentrated in Chile, Congo and Peru, where strikes, outages and falling ore grades can tighten the market quickly. Trade policy matters too: in 2025 the prospect of US tariffs on copper imports lifted the New York (COMEX) price well above the London (LME) price, a reminder that this contract can trade on a US-specific story.
This week's report
| Trader group | Long | Short | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managed money | 58,634 | 23,744 | +34,890 |
| Producers & merchants | 62,783 | 118,001 | −55,218 |
| Swap dealers | 52,950 | 39,655 | +13,295 |
Contracts held long, short and net as of Nov 3, 2026 (published Nov 6, 2026). Source: CFTC.
The last 13 weeks
| Week ending | Managed money net | Change | Index (52w) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2026 | +79,027 | +3,269 | 100 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | +78,648 | −379 | 99 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | +76,271 | −2,377 | 94 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | +72,882 | −3,389 | 86 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | +82,154 | +9,272 | 100 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | +65,106 | −17,048 | 64 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | +82,522 | +17,416 | 100 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | +78,058 | −4,464 | 91 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | +61,134 | −16,924 | 55 |
| Oct 13, 2026 | +61,058 | −76 | 55 |
| Oct 20, 2026 | +47,690 | −13,368 | 26 |
| Oct 27, 2026 | +40,575 | −7,115 | 11 |
| Nov 3, 2026 | +34,890 | −5,685 | 0 |
Net position of managed money at each weekly reporting date, the change from the week before, and the COT index for that week. The index compares a week against this market’s own 52-week range: 0 is the low end of that range, 100 the high end — a high reading is not the same as a long position. Source: CFTC.
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