EUR net non-commercial positions (COT) in Eurozone

The net position of NON-COMMERCIAL traders in the euro futures market: their open long contracts minus their open 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, who use the future to hedge a genuine business risk.

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

It measures POSITIONING, not the economy. A deeply negative net means speculative money is short the euro: if the price rises, those positions must be closed by buying, which can amplify the move. Historical extremes are read as a sign that a trend is running out of steam.

It arrives with a three-day lag, so it does not describe today's positioning. It covers only US-regulated futures: it misses the spot market, over-the-counter trades and venues abroad. And the line between commercial and non-commercial traders is drawn by the participants' own self-classification, which does not always reflect their true intent.