South African rand COT report: large speculators at the 90th percentile of three years

Name: South African rand Commitments of Traders positioning
Creator: TradeEasy

Large speculators are more long than in 90% of the last 156 weekly reports. They hold 15,698 contracts net long, up 523 on the week.

Positions are in the south african rand futures contract: “long” means long the south african rand against the US dollar.

T6 · CFTC Legacy report, futures only · data as of Tue 22 Sep 2026 · published Fri 25 Sep · next Fri 2 Oct, 15:30 ET

Large speculators · 3-year percentile

90^thExtreme long

Last week 90th1-year 99th

Positions by trader group

Trader groupLongShortNetWk chg% OI long3-year percentile1-yr

Large speculatorsNon-commercial traders21,0355,337+15,698+52355.6%90^thExtreme long99th

CommercialsHedgers and producers13,14130,781−17,640−3634.7%9^thExtreme short1st

Small tradersNon-reportable positions3,1691,227+1,942−4878.4%87^thStretched long64th

Open interest 37,849Commercials usually sit opposite large speculators — that is hedging, not a view.

Large speculatorsNon-commercial traders

90^thExtreme long

Long21.0kShort5.3kNet+15.7kWk chg+523

CommercialsHedgers and producers

9^thExtreme short

Long13.1kShort30.8kNet−17.6kWk chg−36

Small tradersNon-reportable positions

87^thStretched long

Long3.2kShort1.2kNet+1.9kWk chg−487

Open interest 37,849

Three years of positioning

Large speculators net position (contracts) · dashed = 10th / 90th percentile of the weeks shown

3-year percentile, every week · blue = long side · rose = short side

Large speculators

Commercials

Small traders

Table view: all 156 weeks

This reading in context

Window high+33,053 · Tue 17 Sep 2024
Window low−3,812 · Tue 21 Jan 2025
Weeks at 90th+2 of 29 · how rare this reading is

Past extreme readings

Extreme long22 Sep ’26 · Large speculators · 90th · net +15.7k
Extreme short22 Sep ’26 · Commercials · 9th · net −17.6k
Extreme long15 Sep ’26 · Large speculators · 90th · net +15.2k
Extreme short15 Sep ’26 · Commercials · 9th · net −17.6k
Extreme long15 Sep ’26 · Small traders · 98th · net +2.4k
Extreme long8 Sep ’26 · Small traders · 98th · net +2.5k
Extreme long1 Sep ’26 · Small traders · 94th · net +2.1k
Extreme long4 Aug ’26 · Small traders · 92nd · net +2.0k
Extreme long21 Jul ’26 · Small traders · 90th · net +1.9k
Extreme long14 Jul ’26 · Small traders · 98th · net +2.4k

Weekly change, last 12 reports

7 Jul+52322 Sep

Large speculators have added to their net position for 7 straight weeks.

Euro FX11^th British pound4^th Japanese yen80^th Swiss franc61^st Australian dollar55^th Canadian dollar74^th

Positioning is descriptive: it shows where each group stands against its own history, not where price goes next. Crowded positions can stay crowded for months.

What the COT report is, and how to read it

What the COT report is

Every Friday the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) publishes who holds what in each regulated futures market, as of the previous Tuesday. The Legacy report groups traders into large speculators (non-commercial), commercials (hedgers and producers) and small traders (positions too small to report), so you can see which side each group is on.

Why a percentile, not the raw number

Contract counts mean little on their own: 18,000 contracts is a lot in silver and very little in the S&P 500. So each net position is ranked against the same contract’s own last 3 years (156 weekly reports). The 92nd percentile means more long than in 92% of those weeks. Where we hold fewer weeks, the page says so (“1-year percentile”).

How people read the extremes

Readings at or above the 90th percentile, or at or below the 10th, are rare by definition — the group is unusually one-sided. That describes positioning; it is not a forecast. Crowded positions can stay crowded for months.

What it can’t tell you

The data is three days old when published and covers futures only. It shows positions, not intentions or timing, and says nothing on its own about where price goes next.

Educational information, not investment advice. Positioning data: CFTC Commitments of Traders (Legacy report, futures only), via Financial Modeling Prep. Percentiles are computed by TradeEasy against each contract’s own history. Past positioning does not predict future prices.