Gold COT report

01 —— Latest positioning

02 —— Weekly history

The contract: Gold futures (GC)

The GC contract on COMEX is the world's benchmark gold futures market, and its non-commercial positioning is the standard read on speculative sentiment toward the metal. Unlike the currency contracts, gold positioning is almost always net long — the interesting question is how long, and whether that length is growing or shrinking.

One caveat applies here that does not apply to the currencies: StraviaX's stored gold history begins in May 2026, later than the currency contracts. Range labels on this page are computed against that shorter window and say so explicitly.

What drives speculative gold positioning

Real yields are the dominant force. When inflation-adjusted US yields fall, the opportunity cost of holding gold drops and speculative longs build; when real yields rise, those longs are trimmed. Federal Reserve expectations sit directly upstream of that, making gold positioning a leveraged expression of the Fed outlook.

Central bank buying is the structural backdrop: official-sector demand has absorbed supply for years, which is part of why the speculative community's default stance is long. Geopolitical stress adds episodic spikes in length on top of that base.

Reading GC against XAUUSD

Gold futures are priced in dollars per ounce, so the read is direct: a rising net long means speculators are positioned for XAUUSD to rise, a falling net long means they are reducing exposure. There is no inversion to apply.

The dollar link still matters. Because gold is priced in dollars, a heavily long GC position often coexists with a bearish dollar view — compare this page with the US dollar page to see whether the two stories agree.

How StraviaX uses gold positioning

Gold COT feeds the conviction layer on XAUUSD. The metal's headline read rests on the inverted US macro picture, the two-year yield trend and the Fed stance; positioning adds context on how crowded the trade is, and never moves the headline score itself.

How StraviaX calculates this

The figures come from the CFTC Commitments of Traders report, non-commercial (speculative) positions in the listed futures contract. The data is as of Tuesday and published on Friday; this page shows both dates and flags the data as delayed when the latest report is more than ten days old.

The range position compares the current net position only with the history StraviaX has stored (since January 2026; gold since May 2026). It is labelled honestly — "within its range since January 2026" — and is never described as a one-year or three-year extreme until the stored history covers that span.

Inside StraviaX, COT positioning shapes the conviction label on a pair read. It never drives the headline macro score, which is built from rates, growth, inflation, spending, labour data and data surprises.

Frequently asked questions

What is the gold COT report?

The CFTC's weekly positioning data for COMEX Gold futures. This page shows the speculative net position, its weekly change and where it sits in the history StraviaX has stored since May 2026.

Why is gold positioning almost always net long?

Speculators use gold as a standing hedge against dollar weakness, inflation and stress, so the non-commercial category rarely flips net short. The signal is in the size and direction of the long, not its sign.

Does gold COT have the same inversion as yen futures?

No. Gold futures are priced in dollars per ounce, so a net long position is directly bullish XAUUSD. The inversion only applies to currency futures quoted against USDJPY, USDCHF and USDCAD.

Why does the gold range start later than the currencies?

StraviaX began storing gold positioning in May 2026, after the currency contracts. Range labels are computed against the stored window only and are labelled with its start date.

Related

• COT report hub
• Smart money vs retail positioning
• How COT positioning works
• XAUUSD fundamental analysis
• COT vs retail sentiment