🐄 Livestock Futures Positioning
CFTC weekly report · Report Date: 2026-10-20
Live Cattle Futures
SQUEEZE2-year weekly history · Speculator, commercial, and small trader positioning
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Flow Signal
SQUEEZE
Short squeeze in Live Cattle — specs covering extreme short positions. Both commercials and speculators adding Live Cattle — crowded, late-cycle caution.
Spec:
30,730
(+4,404)
·
Comm:
-22,995
3Y Percentile
8%
Latest Week
Speculator Net
30,730
Commercial Net
-22,995
Small Trader Net
-7,735
Long/Short Ratio
1.56
Open Interest
289,575
Total Traders
383
Feeder Cattle Futures
BEARISH2-year weekly history · Speculator, commercial, and small trader positioning
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Flow Signal
BEARISH
Distribution phase — commercials selling Feeder Cattle into speculator demand.
Spec:
-487
(+730)
·
Comm:
3,286
3Y Percentile
31%
Latest Week
Speculator Net
-487
Commercial Net
3,286
Small Trader Net
-2,799
Long/Short Ratio
0.98
Open Interest
62,145
Total Traders
222
Lean Hogs Futures
SQUEEZE2-year weekly history · Speculator, commercial, and small trader positioning
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Flow Signal
SQUEEZE
Short squeeze in Lean Hogs — specs covering extreme short positions. Commercials accumulating Lean Hogs while speculators exit — smart money positioning bullish.
Spec:
-76,730
(+5,057)
·
Comm:
76,013
3Y Percentile
1%
Latest Week
Speculator Net
-76,730
Commercial Net
76,013
Small Trader Net
717
Long/Short Ratio
0.51
Open Interest
291,717
Total Traders
345
Milk Class III Futures
SQUEEZE2-year weekly history · Speculator, commercial, and small trader positioning
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Flow Signal
SQUEEZE
Short squeeze in Milk Class III — specs covering extreme short positions. Commercials accumulating Milk Class III while speculators exit — smart money positioning bullish.
Spec:
-11,495
(+1,610)
·
Comm:
13,630
3Y Percentile
2%
Latest Week
Speculator Net
-11,495
Commercial Net
13,630
Small Trader Net
-2,135
Long/Short Ratio
0.17
Open Interest
35,068
Total Traders
91
Cheese Futures
BULLISH2-year weekly history · Speculator, commercial, and small trader positioning
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Flow Signal
BULLISH
Commercials accumulating Cheese while speculators exit — smart money positioning bullish.
Spec:
-11,950
(-1,163)
·
Comm:
11,422
3Y Percentile
0%
Latest Week
Speculator Net
-11,950
Commercial Net
11,422
Small Trader Net
528
Long/Short Ratio
0.06
Open Interest
34,184
Total Traders
76
How to Read COT Data
Speculators (Non-Commercial)
Hedge funds, CTAs, and momentum traders. They follow trends and amplify moves. When their positioning reaches extremes, it often signals the trend is crowded and vulnerable to reversal.
Commercials (Hedgers)
Producers, refiners, and consumers who use futures to hedge their business. They tend to be contrarian — selling into rallies and buying dips. At extremes, they're historically on the right side.
The Percentile Bar
Shows where current speculator positioning ranks vs. the past 3 years. Above 80% = historically bullish, below 20% = historically bearish. Extremes (top/bottom 10%) are the highest-signal readings.
What To Watch For
The best signals come from extreme positioning + divergence: when speculators are max long but commercials are max short, it often precedes a reversal. The weekly change shows who's adding or liquidating.
Source: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commitments of Traders reports. Data is published weekly with a 3-day lag.