COT Report Release Time and the Tuesday-to-Friday Lag
The COT report is released once a week, but the numbers inside it are already a few days old. This guide explains when it comes out, why there is a lag, what that means in Pakistan and India time, and how to use the data anyway.
When is the COT report released?
The Commitments of Traders report is published by the US CFTC every week. The normal schedule is:
- Data date: positions as they stood at the close of business on Tuesday.
- Release: Friday at 3:30 pm US Eastern time.
When a US federal holiday falls near the end of the week, the release moves to the next working day, usually Monday. The CFTC publishes its own release calendar, so check it if you see a gap. The beginner guide to the COT report explains what the report contains.
Why the data is from Tuesday
Thousands of firms must report their positions to the CFTC, and the CFTC needs time to collect, check and publish them. So there is a built-in delay of three days between the snapshot (Tuesday) and the release (Friday). By the time you read the report, the market has already traded Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
This is not an error and it will not be fixed. It is simply how the public report works, and it shapes how you should use it.
Release time in Pakistan and India
3:30 pm in New York is late at night in South Asia, and the exact hour changes with US daylight saving time. As a guide:
- While the US is on summer time: about 12:30 am Saturday in Pakistan and about 1:00 am Saturday in India.
- While the US is on winter time: about 1:30 am Saturday in Pakistan and about 2:00 am Saturday in India.
In practice this means most readers in Pakistan and India look at the new report on Saturday morning, when the weekend gives time to plan the week ahead. The COT report this week page shows the newest data, and the Urdu and Hindi versions are linked from the Urdu COT guide and Hindi COT guide.
What the lag means for you
- It is not a timing tool. You cannot use it to enter at the exact turning point, because the position may already have changed.
- It is a context tool. Large traders change positions slowly, over weeks. A trend in net positioning is still useful even when it is three days old.
- Extremes matter more than small changes. A move of a few contracts says little. A reading near the edge of its range, shown by the COT index, says more.
How to use COT despite the lag
- Read it on the weekend. Set your weekly bias when the market is closed and calm.
- Compare with price. Check what price did from Wednesday to Friday. If it moved strongly with the trend, the new report may already be partly priced in.
- Add faster data. The CME daily volume and open interest are published every day, so they fill the gap between COT reports.
- Confirm with price action. Use open interest and price action together before acting on a bias.
- Check relative strength. The currency strength meter is live and shows which currency is leading now.
A simple weekly timeline
Here is how the week fits together, so the lag becomes part of your routine instead of a surprise:
- Tuesday: the CFTC takes its snapshot. Nothing is public yet.
- Wednesday to Friday: the market keeps moving. The CME publishes daily volume and open interest, which you can follow in the CME tab.
- Friday evening US time (Saturday early morning in Pakistan and India): the new report is released and ICC Terminal updates its COT tab and the COT index.
- Weekend: read the report, compare it with the week's price action, and write down your bias for Monday.
- Monday to Thursday: trade your own plan. Do not change the bias every day; the next COT update is a week away.
Writing the bias down matters. When the next report arrives, you can check honestly whether the positioning confirmed your view, contradicted it, or told you nothing new. That habit teaches more than any single number.
Common mistakes
- Reading a Friday report as if it showed Friday positions.
- Trading against a trend because last Tuesday's position looked extreme.
- Expecting a release on a US holiday week without checking the calendar.
- Ignoring the cost of a trade: use the risk-reward calculator and the lot size calculator to plan the risk first.
Always see the newest COT data
ICC Terminal loads each new COT release and shows the COT index for the main futures markets.
Get the COT report every Saturday on Telegram → t.me/icccharts
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FAQ
What time is the COT report released?
Friday at 3:30 pm US Eastern time, covering positions at the close of the previous Tuesday. When a US holiday falls in the week, the release usually moves to the next working day.
Why is the COT report delayed by three days?
The CFTC needs time to collect and check reports from thousands of firms, so the public data always describes Tuesday and is published on Friday.
Is the COT report still useful if it is old?
Yes, as context. Big traders change positions over weeks, so trends and extremes in positioning stay useful, but the report is not a precise timing signal.