Crude Oil COT positioning
Managed money is net long 21,728 contracts in Crude Oil futures as of Nov 3, 2026, with positioning at 39 of 100 within 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 39 on a 0–100 scale between its 52-week low and high — with room to move before it reaches an extreme.
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 crude oil positioning
WTI crude uses the same three groups: managed money (funds trading the macro and supply story), producers and merchants (oil producers hedging, structurally short), and swap dealers. Managed money's net long is the classic sentiment gauge for oil.
It is driven by supply — OPEC+ decisions and US shale output — against global demand, tracked through weekly EIA inventories and growth data. Geopolitics (Middle East, sanctions, shipping) can force fast repositioning.
This week's report
| Trader group | Long | Short | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managed money | 147,382 | 125,654 | +21,728 |
| Producers & merchants | 639,282 | 269,935 | +369,347 |
| Swap dealers | 135,333 | 615,957 | −480,624 |
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 | +79,916 | −7,042 | 86 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | +87,479 | +7,563 | 91 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | +84,020 | −3,459 | 89 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | +94,281 | +10,261 | 96 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | +111,731 | +17,450 | 100 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | +106,279 | −5,452 | 96 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | +101,828 | −4,451 | 93 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | +79,592 | −22,236 | 79 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | +53,598 | −25,994 | 61 |
| Oct 13, 2026 | +40,574 | −13,024 | 53 |
| Oct 20, 2026 | +36,187 | −4,387 | 49 |
| Oct 27, 2026 | +31,128 | −5,059 | 46 |
| Nov 3, 2026 | +21,728 | −9,400 | 39 |
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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