AUD net non-commercial positions (COT) in Australia

The net position of NON-COMMERCIAL traders in Australian dollar futures: long contracts minus short contracts. 'Non-commercial' is the CFTC's label for those trading to profit from price moves (funds, asset managers, CTAs), as opposed to commercial traders hedging a genuine business risk.

Non-commercial long positions minus non-commercial short positions, in number of contracts, taken from the CFTC's weekly Commitments of Traders report. The data reflect Tuesday's close and are released the following Friday at 15:30 Eastern time.

It gauges POSITIONING, not the economy. A deeply negative net reading shows speculative money is short: if the price rises, those positions must be covered by buying, which can amplify the move. Historical extremes are often read as a sign a trend is exhausting.

It arrives with a three-day lag, so it does not describe today's positioning. It only covers US-regulated futures, missing the spot market, over-the-counter trades and overseas venues. The line between commercial and non-commercial traders is set by participants' own declarations, which do not always reflect true intent.