How to Read Commodity COT Data
Read commodity outright positions, spreads, open-interest shares and rolling context without assigning unsupported trading motives.
Outright long, short and net
Directional net position is outright long minus outright short for the same commodity, category and report date.
Spreads
Spread positions are stored and labeled separately. They are not added to long or short when Squawkdeck calculates directional net positioning.
Physical context
Seasonality, inventories, production cycles and contract selection matter. Official categories describe business activity, not a guaranteed motive or price forecast.