Energy COT Report: crude oil, natural gas and fuels
5 energy markets · CFTC Legacy, Futures Only · report of Nov 3, 2026Released · positions as of
In the energy COT report of Nov 3, 2026, large speculators (Non-Commercial) were net long in 3 of the 5 energy markets in that report (RBOB Gasoline, WTI Crude Oil, and Heating Oil (ULSD)) and net short in 2 (Natural Gas and Brent Crude Oil). Relative to open interest, their largest net position was in RBOB Gasoline (net long 68,151 contracts, 21.3% of open interest) and their largest weekly move in Heating Oil (ULSD), where the net shrank by 4,207 contracts.
Energy COT data by market
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| Non-Commercial (Large Speculators) | Commercial (Hedgers)Hedging, not price speculation. Hedgers (producers, processors, merchants and, in the Legacy report, swap dealers) use futures to offset the price risk of their business or of their clients’ trades. Their net short or net long is mostly that offsetting, not a view on where the price is going. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market | Net Positions | Weekly Change | % of OI | Net Positions | Open Interest | Table | Chart |
| WTI Crude Oil COT Report | NET LONG+80,289 | +5,946 | +4.2% | NET SHORT-111,277 | 1,908,732+22,452 | Table | Chart |
| Natural Gas COT Report | NET SHORT-258,863 | -3,699 | -15.4% | NET LONG+243,049 | 1,678,554-2,489 | Table | Chart |
| RBOB Gasoline COT Report | NET LONG+68,151 | -3,314 | +21.3% | NET SHORT-76,931 | 319,402-14,768 | Table | Chart |
| Heating Oil (ULSD) COT Report | NET LONG+5,464 | -4,207 | +2.2% | NET SHORT-18,646 | 244,833-7,004 | Table | Chart |
| Brent Crude Oil COT Report | NET SHORT-31,538 | -2,978 | -15.2% | NET LONG+23,809 | 207,607-26,676 | Table | Chart |
Source: the CFTC’s Legacy Commitments of Traders report, Futures Only. Large speculators = Non-Commercial, hedgers = Commercial. Each market is read from its own latest report, and contracts are never added up across markets, because every contract has its own size. The Disaggregated report splits the same traders into four groups, so the Non-Commercial net here and the net of the money managers can differ, even by side.
These are the 5 energy markets. The full list of 350+ markets:COT Report Simplified
Energy COT report of Nov 3, 2026: what changed
Largest weekly moves
Large speculators’ net change relative to open interest
- Heating Oil (ULSD)-4,2071.7% of OI
- Brent Crude Oil-2,9781.4% of OI
- RBOB Gasoline-3,3141.0% of OI
The largest weekly move relative to open interest was in Heating Oil (ULSD): the large speculators’ net long position shrank by 4,207 contracts (1.7% of open interest). Natural Gas: large speculators held their largest net short position since Jan 28, 2020. Commercials (hedgers) were net short in 3 of the 5 markets. Hedgers (producers, processors, merchants and, in the Legacy report, swap dealers) use futures to offset the price risk of their business or of their clients’ trades. Their net short or net long is mostly that offsetting, not a view on where the price is going.
More COT Report Formats
What the Energy COT report covers
Energy futures follow the oil and gas chain from the well to the pump. Crude oil appears twice: as WTI, the US benchmark delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma, and as Brent, the North Sea benchmark, through a cash-settled contract. The refined products come next, RBOB gasoline and New York Harbor ultra-low sulfur diesel, the contract once known as heating oil. Natural gas, priced at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, has a rhythm of its own, with storage filled through the summer and drawn down in winter. All of these trade on NYMEX, part of the CME Group.
Commercials in energy are the companies whose business is the fuel itself: producers fixing a price for future output, refiners hedging the margin between crude and products, utilities, distributors and airlines covering fuel they will need. The Non-Commercial group, the large speculators, holds hedge funds, commodity trading advisers and other large traders. Energy markets also carry heavy spread trading, long one delivery month and short another. The Legacy report lists these Non-Commercial spreads in a column of their own, and they are left out of the net shown on this page.
The Legacy report, Futures Only, is the version used here: free for everyone and comparable across every energy market and every year. For a closer view, the CFTC’s Disaggregated report splits the same traders into producers and merchants, swap dealers, money managers and other reportables, showing whether a move in crude oil came from funds or from swap dealers. On this site the Disaggregated tables are part of Premium.
Go deeper
Disaggregated Futures & Options Combined COT Premium: producers and merchants, swap dealers and money managersHow to Read COT ReportsFree: what every column means, net positions and a quick FAQCOT IndexFree: the net position as a 0-100 oscillator over several lookback windowsCOT Data ChartsFree: positions against price and open interest, with years of historyEnergy COT report: common questions
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Are large speculators long or short energy futures this week?
In the energy COT report of Nov 3, 2026, large speculators (Non-Commercial) were net long in 3 of the 5 energy markets in that report (RBOB Gasoline, WTI Crude Oil, and Heating Oil (ULSD)) and net short in 2 (Natural Gas and Brent Crude Oil).
Which market holds the largest net long and the largest net short position of large speculators in energy futures?
In the COT report of Nov 3, 2026, the largest net long position of the large speculators (Non-Commercial) was in RBOB Gasoline: 68,151 contracts, 21.3% of open interest. They have been net long there in each of the last 13 weekly reports. The largest net short position was in Natural Gas: 258,863 contracts, 15.4% of open interest. It is their largest net short position since Jan 28, 2020. The comparison uses each market’s share of its own open interest, because contract sizes differ from one market to another.
Which market had the largest weekly change in energy futures this week?
The largest weekly move relative to open interest was in Heating Oil (ULSD): the large speculators’ net long position shrank by 4,207 contracts (1.7% of open interest). The weekly change compares the COT report of Nov 3, 2026 with the report of the week before, measured against each market’s own open interest.
In how many energy futures markets are the Commercials (hedgers) net short this week?
In the COT report of Nov 3, 2026, Commercials (hedgers) were net short in 3 of the 5 markets. Hedgers (producers, processors, merchants and, in the Legacy report, swap dealers) use futures to offset the price risk of their business or of their clients’ trades. Their net short or net long is mostly that offsetting, not a view on where the price is going.
Which COT report covers energy futures?
This page uses the CFTC’s Legacy report (Futures Only), free for every visitor: it splits each market into large speculators (Non-Commercial), hedgers (Commercial) and small traders (Non-Reportable). For energy futures the CFTC also publishes the Disaggregated report, which splits the same traders into producers and merchants, swap dealers, money managers and other reportables. On this site the Disaggregated tables are part of Premium.
Who are the Commercials and the Non-Commercials in energy futures?
Commercials in energy are the companies whose business is the fuel itself: producers fixing a price for future output, refiners hedging the margin between crude and products, utilities, distributors and airlines covering fuel they will need. The Non-Commercial group, the large speculators, holds hedge funds, commodity trading advisers and other large traders. Energy markets also carry heavy spread trading, long one delivery month and short another. The Legacy report lists these Non-Commercial spreads in a column of their own, and they are left out of the net shown on this page.
When does the next COT report for energy futures come out?
The CFTC publishes the COT report every Friday at 3:30 PM Eastern Time, with the positions held at the close of the Tuesday of the same week. When a US federal holiday falls on the Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of that week, the release moves to the next business day, usually the Monday after; a Monday holiday does not delay it.
Where can I see the COT history of energy futures for free?
Every market on this page links to its COT table (Legacy report, Futures Only), where every visitor sees the last 6 months (26 weekly reports); a free account opens up to 10 years. Each market’s COT chart shows up to 10 years of weekly positions to everyone, no account needed.
Where can I find the energy COT report?
Right here: this page is the energy COT report of COT-Reports.com, free for every visitor. It covers the 5 energy markets the CFTC reports every week (WTI Crude Oil, Natural Gas, RBOB Gasoline, Heating Oil (ULSD), and Brent Crude Oil), with the net positions of the large speculators (Non-Commercial) and the hedgers (Commercial) from the latest Legacy report (Futures Only), refreshed with every weekly CFTC release. In the table, each market’s name opens its own COT report page, such as the WTI Crude Oil COT report.