Classic COT Report
- Structure:
- Commercials (hedgers, large corporations)
- Non-Commercials (large speculators like hedge funds)
- Non-Reportables (small traders)
- Pros: Good for long-term trends since commercials often trade against the market while large speculators reinforce trends.
- Cons: Uses an older classification, making it less precise for some markets.
Aggregated COT Report
- New classification:
- More detailed trader categories (e.g., Swap Dealers, Managed Money, Producers)
- Pros: Provides a clearer market structure, especially for financial futures like currencies and stock indices.
- Cons: More complex to analyze and less useful for some commodity markets.
Which One to Use?
- Currencies, stock indices, bonds: Aggregated data is better since it separates institutional traders more precisely.
- Commodities (gold, oil, corn): Classic COT is often more relevant as it focuses on key players like commercials and speculators.
- Long-term trend analysis: Classic COT (commercials as a contrarian signal).
- Short-term trading & sentiment analysis: Aggregated COT (better insight into hedge funds & institutions).
For intraday or swing trading, the Aggregated COT might be more useful. If you focus on macro trends, the Classic COT is likely better.
