Read the date before the direction
The CFTC’s Commitments of Traders reports generally describe open interest as of Tuesday and are normally released on Friday at 3:30 p.m. US Eastern time. Holidays can alter that timetable, so check the published release schedule. The observation date and publication date are different. A report encountered on Friday does not describe Friday’s positions. In a fast-moving silver market, several sessions of trading may already separate the snapshot from the present.
Choose the report before comparing
COT is a family of reports. Futures-only data and futures-and-options-combined data cover different position sets and should not be spliced into one comparison. Legacy and disaggregated reports also organise traders differently. Start by recording the exact silver market, report type, observation date and units. Then keep those choices constant across weeks. A long position total, a short position total and their net difference convey different information; a single net number compresses the underlying picture.
Categories describe businesses, not identities
The disaggregated report separates reportable traders into Producer/Merchant/Processor/User, Swap Dealers, Managed Money and Other Reportables. Classification reflects predominant business activity, not a public list of individual identities. Nor does it prove the motive behind every position. The CFTC explicitly explains that a producer’s category may include both hedging and speculative activity. A swap dealer may be managing exposures arising from clients with different objectives. Labels help organise the data, but they do not reveal a universal trading strategy.
Use the snapshot within its boundaries
COT covers positions in specified reporting markets, not every physical silver holding, retail transaction or worldwide off-exchange exposure. Changes can reflect participants entering, leaving or being reclassified as well as altered positions. Keep gross and net figures, open interest and the report’s definitions in view before drawing conclusions. Positioning can enrich a wider market assessment, but it supplies neither a guaranteed turning point nor an instruction to copy a category. Description is its strength; certainty is not.
Sources & further reading
Sources checked 14 November 2026. Reference organisations do not endorse this website. Price examples are hypothetical and educational.