Order Blocks Finder [TradingFinder] Major OB | Supply and Demand🔵 Introduction
Drawing all order blocks on the path, especially in range-bound or channeling markets, fills the chart with lines, making it confusing rather than providing the trader with the best entry and exit points.
🔵 Reason for Indicator Creation
For traders familiar with market structure and only need to know the main accumulation points (best entry or exit points), and primary order blocks that act as strong sources of power.
🟣 Important Note
All order blocks, both ascending and descending, are identified and displayed on the chart when the structure of "BOS" or "CHOCH" is broken, which can also be identified with "MSS."
🔵 How to Use
When the indicator is installed, it plots all order blocks (active order blocks) and continues until the price reaches them. This continuation happens in boxes to have a better view in the TradingView chart.
Green Range : Ascending order blocks where we expect a price increase in these areas.
Red Range : Descending order blocks where we expect a price decrease in these areas.
🔵 Settings
Order block refine setting : When Order block refine is off, the supply and demand zones are the entire length of the order block (Low to High) in their standard state and cannot be improved. If you turn on Order block refine, supply and demand zones will improve using the error correction algorithm.
Refine type setting : Improving order blocks using the error correction algorithm can be done in two ways: Defensive and Aggressive. In the Aggressive method, the largest possible range is considered for order blocks.
🟣 Important
The main advantage of the Aggressive method is minimizing the loss of stops, but due to the widening of the supply or demand zone, the reward-to-risk ratio decreases significantly. The Aggressive method is suitable for individuals who take high-risk trades.
In the Defensive method, the range of order blocks is minimized to their standard state. In this case, fewer stops are triggered, and the reward-to-risk ratio is maximized in its optimal state. It is recommended for individuals who trade with low risk.
Show high level setting : If you want to display major high levels, set show high level to Yes.
Show low level setting : If you want to display major low levels, set show low level to Yes.
🔵 How to Use
The general view of this indicator is as follows.
When the price approaches the range, wait for the price reaction to confirm it, such as a pin bar or divergence.
If the price passes with a strong candle (spike), especially after a long-range or at the beginning of sessions, a powerful event is happening, and it is outside the credibility level.
An Example of a Valid Zone
An Example of Breakout and Invalid Zone. (My suggestion is not to use pending orders, especially when the market is highly volatile or before and after news.)
After reaching this zone, expect the price to move by at least the minimum candle that confirmed it or a price ceiling or floor.
🟣 Important : These factors can be more accurately measured with other trend finder indicators provided.
🔵 Auxiliary Tools
There is much talk about not using trend lines, candlesticks, Fibonacci, etc., in the web space. However, our suggestion is to create and use tools that can help you profit from this market.
• Fibonacci Retracement
• Trading Sessions
• Candlesticks
🔵 Advantages
• Plotting main OBs without additional lines;
• Suitable for timeframes M1, M5, M15, H1, and H4;
• Effective in Tokyo, Sydney, and London sessions;
• Plotting the main ceiling and floor to help identify the trend.
In den Scripts nach "supply and demand" suchen
MTF Swing Highs and Lows w/ Supply and Demand ZonesI designed this indicator out of necessity for the Market structure/Price action trading strategy I use.
I thought I'd share. :)
For the fans of my Multi Timeframe Swing High and Low indicator, I have added Supply and Demand Zones!
The Supply and Demand Zones are based on the Swing Highs and Lows of my MTF Swing Highs and Lows Indicator.
The S/D Zones are created on the wicks of the Swing Highs and Lows.
You can choose whether to display the Chart, Higher and/or Highest timeframes as in the chart below.
You can also choose to display up to 3 S/D Zones from the past 3 Swing Highs and Lows.
The default setting is to display 1 chart timeframe S/D Zone, 2 higher and 3 highest, as I found this to be most effective without
cluttering the screen too much
The Chart Timeframe S/D Zones have an orange border, higher timeframe have a blue border and the highest have a black border.
Supply zones based on Swing Highs are red and Demand Zones based on Swing Lows are green.
This indicator displays Swing Highs and Lows on 3 timeframes based on the Chart timeframe, as follows:
Chart TF Higher TF Highest TF
1m 5m 15m
5m 15m 60m
15m 60m 240m
60m 240m Daily
240m Daily Weekly
Daily Weekly Monthly
You can change the font size of the labels as you'd prefer.
Caleb's Supply and Demand ZonesThis script takes predetermined levels and plots them as supply and demand zones. These zones are automatically colored as supply or demand based on price action. Additionally, two EMAs and a VWAP are included to help make intraday trading decisions. This script is written to intuitively deduce between SPY, SPX, ES, US500, QQQ, and NQ to plot the zones in their proper corresponding price levels.
Engulfing Detector (Supply and Demand)Bullish and bearish engulfing candles marked with horizontal lines around engulfed candle.
This indicator can be used to assist in locating potential supply and demand zones.
The fresh zones will be of green and red line colors and the tested zone lines are grey in color.
Manoj S/Rsupply and demand zone
supply and demand zone
supply and demand zone
supply and demand zone
Supply and demandHi all!
This is my take on supply/demand. The gist is that it creates a zone if there is a big enough reaction. This is configurable in settings as "Minimum range (ATR factor)" (the Average True Length of length 14) that is the distance that the price must travel and "Reaction bars" that is the maximum number of bars that price must travel this distance. The zones that are shown are the ones that have a retest, break and retest or is unmitigated (untouched). If a zone is mitigated (entered) or broken it is temporarily hidden. For a zone to be created it needs to have this reaction and the previous bar does not.
So this script will show you zones that are fresh (unmitigated), retested or broken and retested. This means that the zones that are shown have "proven" that they are good zones through this. Basically it means that the script creates a bunch of zones and then picks the good once. This makes the script have some latency, but will hopefully give you good zones. A zone is completely removed if it's broken twice (it's okay if it's broken once and can still have a retest after it has flipped from previous supply (or resistance) into demand (or support)).
Here is a zone (the one that has the lowest opacity) that is broken and retested that could have resulted in a good long trade (the settings are default but has a stop in the beginning of 2024):
You have a setting to remove zones that are pierced (broken by price wicks). The following zone is pierced by price (in the beginning of May) that will not be shown after the start of May if you have "Pierced" checked (the indicator has default settings but a stop in the middle of April):
You have a trend section. Zones that create a reaction upwards can only be created if the trend is considered to be up, and vice versa. The options here are "SMA50" (the current price needs to be over the Simple Moving Average of length 50) and "SMA50, SMA200" (price needs to be over the Simple Moving Average of length 50 and the Simple Moving Average of length 50 needs to be over the Simple Moving Average of length 200). If these conditions are met the trend is considered to be up, otherwise it's down. You can disable this by choosing "No detection".
The zones that are shown also need to be within a limit (of the current price). This limit is 10 (factor of the Average True Range if length 14) by default. Set this to 0 to deactivate. This is useful for not showing zones that are far away from current price and therefore unlikely to be interacted with.
You can stop the calculation of zones (through the "Stop" value in the settings). This is useful to see if previous zones were any good. I used it in my testing of the script but left it because it can be nice to have.
The zones created by the script have different transparency based upon the zone's interaction. The clearest zones are the ones that are unmitigated, the second clearest ones are the ones having a retest and lastly the zones which are most unclear are the ones having a break and then a retest.
You can see the concept of this script to be a mix of supply/demand and support/resistance, having zones being unmitigated (untouched) as the most important but also show the zones having an interaction (in the form of a retest or a break and retest).
This is from a previous supply (or resistance) zone that has flipped into demand (or support) and has shown to be a good zone through a retest followed by a rally (default settings):
This zone has multiple retest and then rallies that could have given a good long trades (it has the default settings but a "Stop" time at 2022-01-14):
TODO:
- Create zones based on pivots
- Handle overlapping zones
- Incorporate volume in the creation and/or interaction with zones
- Add alerts
- Add ability to set maximum zone width
- Add ability to set the maximum number of retest bars
- ...?
The example for this publication has the default settings bit a "Stop" and a tighter "Limit" of 4.
I hope this explanation makes sense, let me know otherwise. Also let me know if you have any suggestions on improvements.
Best of trading luck!
Supply and Demand ZonesSupply/demand
Best for swings
One can also use the same for intraday by using daily zones
Supply and Demand Based Pattern [RH]This indicator focuses on detecting RBR and DBD patterns, which signify periods of increased momentum and potential continuation or reversal of the prevailing trend.
The RBR pattern consists of a rally (upward movement), followed by a base (consolidation or retracement), and then another rally. It suggests that the upward momentum may persist and provide trading opportunities.
On the other hand, the DBD pattern comprises a drop (downward movement), followed by a base, and then another drop. It indicates that the downward momentum might continue, offering potential shorting opportunities.
Bullish(RBR) example:
Bearish(DBD) example:
1. The bullish (RBR) and bearish (DBD) patterns share the same underlying logic, only differing in their directionality.
2. For both RBR and DBD patterns, the first rise/drop can consist of one or multiple candles. However, in the case of multiple candles, all candles must exhibit a bullish nature for RBR and a bearish nature for DBD.
Example:
3. It is a prerequisite for the first rise/drop to include at least one candle with a defined percentage of health, as determined by the user.
4. The base, following the first rise/drop, may comprise one or multiple candles.
Example:
5. To maintain consistency, the base is not allowed to retrace beyond 80%, although this value can be adjusted by the user.
6. Similar to the first rise/drop, the second rise/drop in both RBR and DBD patterns can consist of one or multiple candles. However, all candles within this phase must demonstrate a bullish nature for RBR and a bearish nature for DBD.
7. Confirmation of the bullish (RBR) pattern occurs when a candle closes above the high of the first rise. Conversely, the bearish (DBD) pattern is confirmed when a candle closes below the low of the first drop.
Example:
Alerts can be set for all bullish and bearish pattern or for the first pattern in the range of similar pattern.
Supply and Demand Zone ConfirmationHello traders and investors,
Today, I am going to share an indicator that I made by mixing RSI and CCI in different timeframe. You can use this indicator in various ways, however the best possible way I would recommend you to use it is to combine it with price action. I would suggest to play with, so you can decide if it works the best for you.
The whole purpose of making this indicator was to eliminate confusion around different indicators for overbought and oversold and many other headaches. You use price action and you are looking for confirmation to see there is a PRZ? here is your indicator. I found there are certain patterns with CCI and RSI in higher timeframe which helps to find the PRZ and I made this indicator with it.
You can choose to use this indicator in different timeframe. But you have to consider, the lower timeframe you'll go, you will get more signals but the effectiveness goes down with it. Also, if you are willing to change the time frame, You have to change some settings as well which I'll get into it in a moment.
The default settings are for 30min timeframe with these settings.
ibb.co
In case you would like to go to 15min time frame, here is the suggested changes in the setting.
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I would suggest to play with different timeframe to find the suitable setting for the pairs you would like to trade. The main goal is you have to choose first CCI one timeframe higher ( if you are in 5min chart, first CCI should be at least 15 or 30min) and the second CCI one timeframe higher than first CCI (if you choose 15min for first CCI, go with 1hr for second CCI). And lastly, RSI can be variable but it is suggested to be at least as low as first CCI timeframe.
Lastly, you have to consider nothing in this script is a financial advice, it is only to help you improve your trading style by making other indicators as simple as possible.
Supply and Demand ZonesThis indicators should be used along with price action breakout
Red zones - Red zones are formed daily
10 days average ranges
Blue zones - Blue zones are formed every week
10 weeks average ranges
Green zones - Green zones are formed every month
10 months averange ranges
Indecisive CandlesAn Indecisive Candle, often referred to as a Base Candle, is a pivotal element in technical analysis, particularly for identifying institutional supply and demand zones. These candles are characterized by their small bodies and long wicks, reflecting a balance between buyers and sellers, indicating a potential pause or consolidation in the market.
To calculate whether a candle qualifies as an indecisive candle based on the criterion that its body (the absolute difference between its open and close prices) is less than or equal to 50% of the total range of the candle (the difference between its high and low prices).
Key Features:
Small Real Body: Signifies minimal movement from open to close, indicating market indecision.
Long Upper and Lower Wicks: Show that both bulls and bears attempted to control the price, but neither succeeded, leading to a standoff.
Formation Context: Typically found at the end of a strong trend or within a consolidation phase, hinting at a potential reversal or continuation pattern.
Usage in Identifying Institutional Supply and Demand:
Supply Zones: When an Indecisive Candle forms after a rally, it can mark the onset of an institutional supply zone, suggesting that large entities are starting to sell, leading to potential downward pressure.
Demand Zones: Conversely, when this candle appears after a downtrend, it often signals the emergence of a demand zone, where institutions begin to accumulate, anticipating a price increase.
Trading Strategies:
Zone Identification: Use Indecisive Candles to pinpoint key supply and demand zones on your chart, enhancing the accuracy of your support and resistance levels.
Confirmation: Look for confirmation from subsequent price action or volume spikes to validate the presence of institutional activity before making trading decisions.
Risk Management: Place stop-loss orders beyond the wicks of these candles to protect against false breakouts or continued indecision.
Conclusion:
Indecisive Candles are essential tools for traders looking to understand market sentiment and institutional behavior. By mastering their identification and interpretation, you can enhance your ability to spot high-probability trading opportunities and manage risks effectively.
MTF OB Supply Demand ZonesHello everyone,
This exceptional indicator provides you with visual representations of bullish and bearish order blocks or supply and demand zones across multiple timeframes. In simple terms, bullish order blocks are represented by a small red candle followed by a large red candle, while bearish order blocks are depicted as a small green candle followed by a large red candle. Supply and demand zones are drawn by using order blocks.
Features:
Display order blocks from up to three different timeframes.
Customize the maximum number of boxes shown and the colors of the zones.
Choose from three different modes: OB (Order Block), Extended OB, and Supply/Demand.
Mode Descriptions:
OB: Includes the body of the candle.
Extended OB: Encompasses the body and wick of the candle.
Supply/Demand: Covers the body, wick, and half the body of the large candle.
Usage:
Ensure that charts 2 and 3 are set to a higher timeframe. For modes 2 and 3, it’s recommended to reduce the maximum number of boxes shown. The zones or boxes are transparent, allowing for overlap. This feature aids in identifying reversal zones or confirmed zones. The more intense the color, the stronger the confirmation. If a green zone overlaps a red zone (or vice versa), it signifies a reversal zone.
Thank you for checking out this indicator!
---
Additional Information:
Order blocks refer to specific price areas where large market participants, such as institutional traders, have previously placed significant buy or sell orders. These clusters of orders can impact price movement, liquidity, and market sentiment.
Order blocks are a strategic approach to identifying key levels of support and resistance based on the behavior of institutional traders. These key levels are then utilized as entry or exit points for trades.
An order block is an area where there has been a large concentration of limit orders awaiting execution. These blocks are identified on a chart by observing previous price action and pinpointing areas where the price experienced significant movement or abrupt changes in direction.
Order blocks are used in the following popular trading philosophies:
Smart Money Concepts (SMC)
Inner Circle Trading (ICT)
Price Action
---
Credits to: @AGFXTRADING
TD Supply & Demand Points ```
TD Supply & Demand Points Indicator
This technical indicator helps identify potential supply and demand zones using price action pattern recognition. It scans for specific candle formations that may indicate institutional trading activity and potential reversal points.
Features:
• Two pattern detection modes:
Level 1: Basic 3-candle pattern for faster signals
Level 2: Advanced 5-candle pattern for higher probability setups
• Clear visual markers:
- Red X above bars for supply points
- Green X below bars for demand points
- Automatic offset adjustment based on pattern level
Pattern Definitions:
Level 1 (3-candle pattern):
Supply: Middle candle's high is higher than both surrounding candles
Demand: Middle candle's low is lower than both surrounding candles
Level 2 (5-candle pattern):
Supply: Sequence showing distribution with higher highs followed by lower highs
Demand: Sequence showing accumulation with lower lows followed by higher lows
Usage Tips:
• Use Level 1 for more frequent signals and Level 2 for stronger setups
• Look for confluence with key support/resistance levels
• Consider overall market context and trend
• Can be used across multiple timeframes
• Best combined with volume and price action analysis
Settings:
Pattern Level: Toggle between Level 1 (3-candle) and Level 2 (5-candle) patterns
Note: This indicator is designed to assist in identifying potential trading opportunities but should be used as part of a comprehensive trading strategy with proper risk management.
Version: 5.0
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I've written this description to be:
1. Clear and concise
2. Technically accurate
3. Helpful for both new and experienced traders
4. Professionally formatted for TradingView
5. Focused on the key features and practical usage
Would you like me to modify any part of it or add more specific details about certain aspects?
$TUBR: 7-25-99 Moving Average7, 25, and 99 Period Moving Averages
This indicator plots three moving averages: the 7-period, 25-period, and 99-period Simple Moving Averages (SMA). These moving averages are widely used to smooth out price action and help traders identify trends over different time frames. Let's break down the significance of these specific moving averages from both supply and demand perspectives and a price action perspective.
1. Supply and Demand Perspective:
- 7-period Moving Average (Short-Term) :
The 7-period moving average represents the short-term sentiment in the market. It captures the rapid fluctuations in price and is heavily influenced by recent supply and demand changes. Traders often look to the 7-period SMA for immediate price momentum, with price moving above or below this line signaling short-term strength or weakness.
- Bullish Supply/Demand : When price is above the 7-period SMA, it suggests that buyers are currently in control and demand is higher than supply. Conversely, price falling below this line indicates that supply is overpowering demand, leading to a short-term downtrend.
Is current price > average price in past 7 candles (depending on timeframe)? This will tell you how aggressive buyers are in short term.
- Key Supply/Demand Zones : The 7-period SMA often acts as dynamic support or resistance in a trending market, where traders might use it to enter or exit positions based on how price interacts with this level.
- 25-period Moving Average (Medium-Term) :
The 25-period SMA smooths out more of the noise compared to the 7-period, providing a more stable indication of intermediate trends. This moving average is often used to gauge the market's supply and demand balance over a broader timeframe than the short-term 7-period SMA.
- Supply/Demand Balance : The 25-period SMA reflects the medium-term equilibrium between supply and demand. A crossover between the price and the 25-period SMA may indicate a shift in this balance. When price sustains above the 25-period SMA, it shows that demand is strong enough to maintain an upward trend. Conversely, if the price stays below it, supply is likely exceeding demand.
Is current price > average price in past 25 candles (depending on timeframe)? This will tell you how aggressive buyers are in mid term.
- Momentum Shift : Crossovers between the 7-period and 25-period SMAs can indicate momentum shifts between short-term and medium-term demand. For example, if the 7-period crosses above the 25-period, it often signifies growing short-term demand relative to the medium-term trend, signaling potential buy opportunities. What this crossover means is that if 7MA > 25MA that means in past 7 candles average price is more than past 25 candles.
- 99-period Moving Average (Long-Term):
The 99-period SMA represents the long-term trend and reflects the market's supply and demand over an extended period. This moving average filters out short-term fluctuations and highlights the market's overall trajectory.
- Long-Term Supply/Demand Dynamics : The 99-period SMA is slower to react to changes in supply and demand, providing a more stable view of the market's overall trend. Price staying above this line shows sustained demand dominance, while price consistently staying below reflects ongoing supply pressure.
Is current price > average price in past 99 candles (depending on timeframe)? This will tell you how aggressive buyers are in long term.
- Market Trend Confirmation : When both the 7-period and 25-period SMAs are above the 99-period SMA, it signals a strong bullish trend with demand outweighing supply across all timeframes. If all three SMAs are below the 99-period SMA, it points to a bear market where supply is overpowering demand in both the short and long term.
2. Price Action Perspective :
- 7-period Moving Average (Short-Term Trends):
The 7-period moving average closely tracks price action, making it highly responsive to quick shifts in price. Traders often use it to confirm short-term reversals or continuations in price action. In an uptrend, price typically stays above the 7-period SMA, whereas in a downtrend, price stays below it.
- Short-Term Price Reversals : Crossovers between the price and the 7-period SMA often indicate short-term reversals. When price breaks above the 7-period SMA after staying below it, it suggests a potential bullish reversal. Conversely, a price breakdown below the 7-period SMA could signal a bearish reversal.
- 25-period Moving Average (Medium-Term Trends) :
The 25-period SMA helps identify the medium-term price action trend. It balances short-term volatility and longer-term stability, providing insight into the more persistent trend. Price pullbacks to the 25-period SMA during an uptrend can act as a buying opportunity for trend traders, while pullbacks during a downtrend may offer shorting opportunities.
- Pullback and Continuation: In trending markets, price often retraces to the 25-period SMA before continuing in the direction of the trend. For instance, if the price is in a bullish trend, traders may look for support at the 25-period SMA for potential continuation trades.
- 99-period Moving Average (Long-Term Trend and Market Sentiment ):
The 99-period SMA is the most critical for identifying the overall market trend. Price consistently trading above the 99-period SMA indicates long-term bullish momentum, while price staying below the 99-period SMA suggests bearish sentiment.
- Trend Confirmation : Price action above the 99-period SMA confirms long-term upward momentum, while price action below it confirms a downtrend. The space between the shorter moving averages (7 and 25) and the 99-period SMA gives a sense of the strength or weakness of the trend. Larger gaps between the 7 and 99 SMAs suggest strong bullish momentum, while close proximity indicates consolidation or potential reversals.
- Price Action in Trending Markets : Traders often use the 99-period SMA as a dynamic support/resistance level. In strong trends, price tends to stay on one side of the 99-period SMA for extended periods, with breaks above or below signaling major changes in market sentiment.
Why These Numbers Matter:
7-Period MA : The 7-period moving average is a popular choice among short-term traders who want to capture quick momentum changes. It helps visualize immediate market sentiment and is often used in conjunction with price action to time entries or exits.
- 25-Period MA: The 25-period MA is a key indicator for swing traders. It balances sensitivity and stability, providing a clearer picture of the intermediate trend. It helps traders stay in trades longer by filtering out short-term noise, while still being reactive enough to detect reversals.
- 99-Period MA : The 99-period moving average provides a broad view of the market's direction, filtering out much of the short- and medium-term noise. It is crucial for identifying long-term trends and assessing whether the market is bullish or bearish overall. It acts as a key reference point for longer-term trend followers, helping them stay with the broader market sentiment.
Conclusion:
From a supply and demand perspective, the 7, 25, and 99-period moving averages help traders visualize shifts in the balance between buyers and sellers over different time horizons. The price action interaction with these moving averages provides valuable insight into short-term momentum, intermediate trends, and long-term market sentiment. Using these three MAs together gives a more comprehensive understanding of market conditions, helping traders align their strategies with prevailing trends across various timeframes.
------------- RULE BASED SYSTEM ---------------
Overview of the Rule-Based System:
This system will use the following moving averages:
7-period MA: Represents short-term price action.
25-period MA: Represents medium-term price action.
99-period MA: Represents long-term price action.
1. Trend Identification Rules:
Bullish Trend:
The 7-period MA is above the 25-period MA, and the 25-period MA is above the 99-period MA.
This structure shows that short, medium, and long-term trends are aligned in an upward direction, indicating strong bullish momentum.
Bearish Trend:
The 7-period MA is below the 25-period MA, and the 25-period MA is below the 99-period MA.
This suggests that the market is in a downtrend, with bearish momentum dominating across timeframes.
Neutral/Consolidation:
The 7-period MA and 25-period MA are flat or crossing frequently with the 99-period MA, and they are close to each other.
This indicates a sideways or consolidating market where there’s no strong trend direction.
2. Entry Rules:
Bullish Entry (Buy Signals):
Primary Buy Signal:
The price crosses above the 7-period MA, AND the 7-period MA is above the 25-period MA, AND the 25-period MA is above the 99-period MA.
This indicates the start of a new upward trend, with alignment across the short, medium, and long-term trends.
Pullback Buy Signal (for trend continuation):
The price pulls back to the 25-period MA, and the 7-period MA remains above the 25-period MA.
This indica
tes that the pullback is a temporary correction in an uptrend, and buyers may re-enter the market as price approaches the 25-period MA.
You can further confirm the signal by waiting for price action (e.g., bullish candlestick patterns) at the 25-period MA level.
Breakout Buy Signal:
The price crosses above the 99-period MA, and the 7-period and 25-period MAs are also both above the 99-period MA.
This confirms a strong bullish breakout after consolidation or a long-term downtrend.
Bearish Entry (Sell Signals):
Primary Sell Signal:
The price crosses below the 7-period MA, AND the 7-period MA is below the 25-period MA, AND the 25-period MA is below the 99-period MA.
This indicates the start of a new downtrend with alignment across the short, medium, and long-term trends.
Pullback Sell Signal (for trend continuation):
The price pulls back to the 25-period MA, and the 7-period MA remains below the 25-period MA.
This indicates that the pullback is a temporary retracement in a downtrend, providing an opportunity to sell as price meets resistance at the 25-period MA.
Breakdown Sell Signal:
The price breaks below the 99-period MA, and the 7-period and 25-period MAs are also below the 99-period MA.
This confirms a strong bearish breakdown after consolidation or a long-term uptrend reversal.
3. Exit Rules:
Bullish Exit (for long positions):
Short-Term Exit:
The price closes below the 7-period MA, and the 7-period MA starts crossing below the 25-period MA.
This indicates weakening momentum in the uptrend, suggesting an exit from the long position.
Stop-Loss Trigger:
The price falls below the 99-period MA, signaling the breakdown of the long-term trend.
This can act as a final exit signal to minimize losses if the long-term uptrend is invalidated.
Bearish Exit (for short positions):
Short-Term Exit:
The price closes above the 7-period MA, and the 7-period MA starts crossing above the 25-period MA.
This indicates a potential weakening of the downtrend and signals an exit from the short position.
Stop-Loss Trigger:
The price breaks above the 99-period MA, invalidating the bearish trend.
This signals that the market may be reversing to the upside, and exiting short positions would be prudent.
Auto Volume Spread Analysis (VSA) [TANHEF]Auto Volume Spread Analysis (visible volume and spread bars auto-scaled): Understanding Market Intentions through the Interpretation of Volume and Price Movements.
All the sections below contain the same descriptions as my other indicator "Volume Spread Analysis" with the exception of 'Auto Scaling'.
█ Auto-Scaling
This indicator auto-scales spread bars to match the visible volume bars, unlike the previous "Volume Spread Analysis " version which limited the number of visible spread bars to a fixed count. The auto-scaling feature allows for easier navigation through historical data, enabling both more historical spread bars to be viewed and more historical VSA pattern labels being displayed without requiring using the bar replay tool. Please note that this indicator’s auto-scaling feature recalculates the visible bars on the chart, causing the indicator to reload whenever the chart is moved.
Auto-scaled spread bars have two display options (set via 'Spread Bars Method' setting):
Lines: a bar lookback limit of 500 bars.
Polylines: no bar lookback limit as only plotted on visible bars on chart, which uses multiple polylines are used.
█ Simple Explanation:
The Volume Spread Analysis (VSA) indicator is a comprehensive tool that helps traders identify key market patterns and trends based on volume and spread data. This indicator highlights significant VSA patterns and provides insights into market behavior through color-coded volume/spread bars and identification of bars indicating strength, weakness, and neutrality between buyers and sellers. It also includes powerful volume and spread forecasting capabilities.
█ Laws of Volume Spread Analysis (VSA):
The origin of VSA begins with Richard Wyckoff, a pivotal figure in its development. Wyckoff made significant contributions to trading theory, including the formulation of three basic laws:
The Law of Supply and Demand: This fundamental law states that supply and demand balance each other over time. High demand and low supply lead to rising prices until demand falls to a level where supply can meet it. Conversely, low demand and high supply cause prices to fall until demand increases enough to absorb the excess supply.
The Law of Cause and Effect: This law assumes that a 'cause' will result in an 'effect' proportional to the 'cause'. A strong 'cause' will lead to a strong trend (effect), while a weak 'cause' will lead to a weak trend.
The Law of Effort vs. Result: This law asserts that the result should reflect the effort exerted. In trading terms, a large volume should result in a significant price move (spread). If the spread is small, the volume should also be small. Any deviation from this pattern is considered an anomaly.
█ Volume and Spread Analysis Bars:
Display: Volume and spread bars that consist of color coded levels, with the spread bars scaled to match the volume bars. A displayable table (Legend) of bar colors and levels can give context and clarify to each volume/spread bar.
Calculation: Levels are calculated using multipliers applied to moving averages to represent key levels based on historical data: low, normal, high, ultra. This method smooths out short-term fluctuations and focuses on longer-term trends.
Low Level: Indicates reduced volatility and market interest.
Normal Level: Reflects typical market activity and volatility.
High Level: Indicates increased activity and volatility.
Ultra Level: Identifies extreme levels of activity and volatility.
This illustrates the appearance of Volume and Spread bars when scaled and plotted together:
█ Forecasting Capabilities:
Display: Forecasted volume and spread levels using predictive models.
Calculation: Volume and Spread prediction calculations differ as volume is linear and spread is non-linear.
Volume Forecast (Linear Forecasting): Predicts future volume based on current volume rate and bar time till close.
Spread Forecast (Non-Linear Dynamic Forecasting): Predicts future spread using a dynamic multiplier, less near midpoint (consolidation) and more near low or high (trending), reflecting non-linear expansion.
Moving Averages: In forecasting, moving averages utilize forecasted levels instead of actual levels to ensure the correct level is forecasted (low, normal, high, or ultra).
The following compares forecasted volume with actual resulting volume, highlighting the power of early identifying increased volume through forecasted levels:
█ VSA Patterns:
Criteria and descriptions for each VSA pattern are available as tooltips beside them within the indicator’s settings. These tooltips provide explanations of potential developments based on the volume and spread data.
Signs of Strength (🟢): Patterns indicating strong buying pressure and potential market upturns.
Down Thrust
Selling Climax
No Effort ➤ Bearish Result
Bearish Effort ➤ No Result
Inverse Down Thrust
Failed Selling Climax
Bull Outside Reversal
End of Falling Market (Bag Holder)
Pseudo Down Thrust
No Supply
Signs of Weakness (🔴): Patterns indicating strong selling pressure and potential market downturns.
Up Thrust
Buying Climax
No Effort ➤ Bullish Result
Bullish Effort ➤ No Result
Inverse Up Thrust
Failed Buying Climax
Bear Outside Reversal
End of Rising Market (Bag Seller)
Pseudo Up Thrust
No Demand
Neutral Patterns (🔵): Patterns indicating market indecision and potential for continuation or reversal.
Quiet Doji
Balanced Doji
Strong Doji
Quiet Spinning Top
Balanced Spinning Top
Strong Spinning Top
Quiet High Wave
Balanced High Wave
Strong High Wave
Consolidation
Bar Patterns (🟡): Common candlestick patterns that offer insights into market sentiment. These are required in some VSA patterns and can also be displayed independently.
Bull Pin Bar
Bear Pin Bar
Doji
Spinning Top
High Wave
Consolidation
This demonstrates the acronym and descriptive options for displaying bar patterns, with the ability to hover over text to reveal the descriptive text along with what type of pattern:
█ Alerts:
VSA Pattern Alerts: Notifications for identified VSA patterns at bar close.
Volume and Spread Alerts: Alerts for confirmed and forecasted volume/spread levels (Low, High, Ultra).
Forecasted Volume and Spread Alerts: Alerts for forecasted volume/spread levels (High, Ultra) include a minimum percent time elapsed input to reduce false early signals by ensuring sufficient bar time has passed.
█ Inputs and Settings:
Indicator Bar Color: Select color schemes for bars (Normal, Detail, Levels).
Indicator Moving Average Color: Select schemes for bars (Fill, Lines, None).
Price Bar Colors: Options to color price bars based on VSA patterns and volume levels.
Legend: Display a table of bar colors and levels for context and clarity of volume/spread bars.
Forecast: Configure forecast display and prediction details for volume and spread.
Average Multipliers: Define multipliers for different levels (Low, High, Ultra) to refine the analysis.
Moving Average: Set volume and spread moving average settings.
VSA: Select the VSA patterns to be calculated and displayed (Strength, Weakness, Neutral).
Bar Patterns: Criteria for bar patterns used in VSA (Doji, Bull Pin Bar, Bear Pin Bar, Spinning Top, Consolidation, High Wave).
Colors: Set exact colors used for indicator bars, indicator moving averages, and price bars.
More Display Options: Specify how VSA pattern text is displayed (Acronym, Descriptive), positioning, and sizes.
Alerts: Configure alerts for VSA patterns, volume, and spread levels, including forecasted levels.
█ Usage:
The Volume Spread Analysis indicator is a helpful tool for leveraging volume spread analysis to make informed trading decisions. It offers comprehensive visual and textual cues on the chart, making it easier to identify market conditions, potential reversals, and continuations. Whether analyzing historical data or forecasting future trends, this indicator provides insights into the underlying factors driving market movements.
Volume Spread Analysis [TANHEF]Volume Spread Analysis: Understanding Market Intentions through the Interpretation of Volume and Price Movements.
█ Simple Explanation:
The Volume Spread Analysis (VSA) indicator is a comprehensive tool that helps traders identify key market patterns and trends based on volume and spread data. This indicator highlights significant VSA patterns and provides insights into market behavior through color-coded volume/spread bars and identification of bars indicating strength, weakness, and neutrality between buyers and sellers. It also includes powerful volume and spread forecasting capabilities.
█ Laws of Volume Spread Analysis (VSA):
The origin of VSA begins with Richard Wyckoff, a pivotal figure in its development. Wyckoff made significant contributions to trading theory, including the formulation of three basic laws:
The Law of Supply and Demand: This fundamental law states that supply and demand balance each other over time. High demand and low supply lead to rising prices until demand falls to a level where supply can meet it. Conversely, low demand and high supply cause prices to fall until demand increases enough to absorb the excess supply.
The Law of Cause and Effect: This law assumes that a 'cause' will result in an 'effect' proportional to the 'cause'. A strong 'cause' will lead to a strong trend (effect), while a weak 'cause' will lead to a weak trend.
The Law of Effort vs. Result: This law asserts that the result should reflect the effort exerted. In trading terms, a large volume should result in a significant price move (spread). If the spread is small, the volume should also be small. Any deviation from this pattern is considered an anomaly.
█ Volume and Spread Analysis Bars:
Display: Volume and/or spread bars that consist of color coded levels. If both of these are displayed, the number of spread bars can be limited for visual appeal and understanding, with the spread bars scaled to match the volume bars. While automatic calculation of the number of visual bars for auto scaling is possible, it is avoided to prevent the indicator from reloading whenever the number of visual price bars on the chart is adjusted, ensuring uninterrupted analysis. A displayable table (Legend) of bar colors and levels can give context and clarify to each volume/spread bar.
Calculation: Levels are calculated using multipliers applied to moving averages to represent key levels based on historical data: low, normal, high, ultra. This method smooths out short-term fluctuations and focuses on longer-term trends.
Low Level: Indicates reduced volatility and market interest.
Normal Level: Reflects typical market activity and volatility.
High Level: Indicates increased activity and volatility.
Ultra Level: Identifies extreme levels of activity and volatility.
This illustrates the appearance of Volume and Spread bars when scaled and plotted together:
█ Forecasting Capabilities:
Display: Forecasted volume and spread levels using predictive models.
Calculation: Volume and Spread prediction calculations differ as volume is linear and spread is non-linear.
Volume Forecast (Linear Forecasting): Predicts future volume based on current volume rate and bar time till close.
Spread Forecast (Non-Linear Dynamic Forecasting): Predicts future spread using a dynamic multiplier, less near midpoint (consolidation) and more near low or high (trending), reflecting non-linear expansion.
Moving Averages: In forecasting, moving averages utilize forecasted levels instead of actual levels to ensure the correct level is forecasted (low, normal, high, or ultra).
The following compares forecasted volume with actual resulting volume, highlighting the power of early identifying increased volume through forecasted levels:
█ VSA Patterns:
Criteria and descriptions for each VSA pattern are available as tooltips beside them within the indicator’s settings. These tooltips provide explanations of potential developments based on the volume and spread data.
Signs of Strength (🟢): Patterns indicating strong buying pressure and potential market upturns.
Down Thrust
Selling Climax
No Effort → Bearish Result
Bearish Effort → No Result
Inverse Down Thrust
Failed Selling Climax
Bull Outside Reversal
End of Falling Market (Bag Holder)
Pseudo Down Thrust
No Supply
Signs of Weakness (🔴): Patterns indicating strong selling pressure and potential market downturns.
Up Thrust
Buying Climax
No Effort → Bullish Result
Bullish Effort → No Result
Inverse Up Thrust
Failed Buying Climax
Bear Outside Reversal
End of Rising Market (Bag Seller)
Pseudo Up Thrust
No Demand
Neutral Patterns (🔵): Patterns indicating market indecision and potential for continuation or reversal.
Quiet Doji
Balanced Doji
Strong Doji
Quiet Spinning Top
Balanced Spinning Top
Strong Spinning Top
Quiet High Wave
Balanced High Wave
Strong High Wave
Consolidation
Bar Patterns (🟡): Common candlestick patterns that offer insights into market sentiment. These are required in some VSA patterns and can also be displayed independently.
Bull Pin Bar
Bear Pin Bar
Doji
Spinning Top
High Wave
Consolidation
This demonstrates the acronym and descriptive options for displaying bar patterns, with the ability to hover over text to reveal the descriptive text along with what type of pattern:
█ Alerts:
VSA Pattern Alerts: Notifications for identified VSA patterns at bar close.
Volume and Spread Alerts: Alerts for confirmed and forecasted volume/spread levels (Low, High, Ultra).
Forecasted Volume and Spread Alerts: Alerts for forecasted volume/spread levels (High, Ultra) include a minimum percent time elapsed input to reduce false early signals by ensuring sufficient bar time has passed.
█ Inputs and Settings:
Display Volume and/or Spread: Choose between displaying volume bars, spread bars, or both with different lookback periods.
Indicator Bar Color: Select color schemes for bars (Normal, Detail, Levels).
Indicator Moving Average Color: Select schemes for bars (Fill, Lines, None).
Price Bar Colors: Options to color price bars based on VSA patterns and volume levels.
Legend: Display a table of bar colors and levels for context and clarity of volume/spread bars.
Forecast: Configure forecast display and prediction details for volume and spread.
Average Multipliers: Define multipliers for different levels (Low, High, Ultra) to refine the analysis.
Moving Average: Set volume and spread moving average settings.
VSA: Select the VSA patterns to be calculated and displayed (Strength, Weakness, Neutral).
Bar Patterns: Criteria for bar patterns used in VSA (Doji, Bull Pin Bar, Bear Pin Bar, Spinning Top, Consolidation, High Wave).
Colors: Set exact colors used for indicator bars, indicator moving averages, and price bars.
More Display Options: Specify how VSA pattern text is displayed (Acronym, Descriptive), positioning, and sizes.
Alerts: Configure alerts for VSA patterns, volume, and spread levels, including forecasted levels.
█ Usage:
The Volume Spread Analysis indicator is a helpful tool for leveraging volume spread analysis to make informed trading decisions. It offers comprehensive visual and textual cues on the chart, making it easier to identify market conditions, potential reversals, and continuations. Whether analyzing historical data or forecasting future trends, this indicator provides insights into the underlying factors driving market movements.
Supply & Demand (MTF) | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new Supply and Demand (MTF) Indicator! This new indicator renders Supply and Demand zones based on momentum candles. It can detect Supply and Demand zones across up to 3 diferent timeframes. It's capable of combining zones, retest & break labels and it's customizable with invalidation and style settings.
Features of the new Supply and Demand (MTF) Indicator:
Renders Supply and Demand Zones Across 3 Timeframes
Combination Of Overlapping Zones
Retest & Break Labels
Retest & Break Alerts
Enable / Disable Historic Zones
Visual Customizability
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
Supply and Demand is a key concept in trading. It helps traders see the zones that market-makers buy & sell the asset in large amounts. It's detected by finding momentum candles (candles that have large bodies) in a row.
Momentum candles are defined to have a larger body than the average candle in the chart, and at least 4 of them in a row is required to draw a supply or demand zone. The zone is drawn from the high wick to low wick of two candles before the first momentum candle in the row.
Check this example :
These zones are usually where market makers trade the asset in larger amounts. Thus, they act as support & resistance zones by their nature. A retest of these zones can make the price bounce to the opposite direction, while a breakout usually means strong price action momentum is incoming in that direction. Supply zones indicate bearish momentum while demand zones indicate bullish momentum.
Check this example :
Here a Supply Zone (Bearish) forms. Then price comes back up to test the zone, and it fails to break. After the failed attemp, a stong bearish momentum takes the price back to a lower level. Then another test of the zone occurs and successfully breaks the zone this time. This breakout starts a bullish momentum that takes the price to a higher level.
🚩UNIQUENESS
This indicator provides Supply and Demand zones in your chart with pure simplicity. It supports up to 3 different timeframes as we believe supporting your trades with higher timeframes can improve your trading experience. It also gets rid of complexity by combining overlapping zones into a single zone, even if they are from different timeframes! You can also set-up alerts to get notified when a supply or demand zone is being retested, or is broken. Overall, this indicator is the ultimate kit for supply and demand zones.
⚙️SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
Max Distance To Last Bar -> The maximum distance that the indicator will render supply and demand zones from. Higher settings mean rendering older supply and demand zones.
Zone Invalidation -> Select between Wick & Close price for Supply and Demand Zone Invalidation.
Retests & Breaks -> Enable retest & break labels in your chart.
Show Historic Zones -> This will show historic supply & demand zones which are invalidated if enabled. You can disable this to only see active supply and demand zones for a simpler chart.
2. Timeframes
You can set up to 3 different timeframes and enable / disable them using the checkboxes in this section.
Zones DetectorThis indicator highlights supply and demand zones.
Method to detect the zones:
1.- The body of the candle is calculated and it is checked how many times it can be repeated in its highest or lowest wick. If the body of the candle is repeated N number of times (Min. Factor) in any of its wicks, it is taken as an indecision zone.
2.- The subsequent candles are reviewed (Confirmation Bars) to determine if the zone is of supply or demand. For demand zones, subsequent prices must be above the minimum price of the indecision zone and for supply zones, subsequent prices must be below the maximum price of the indecision zone.
3.- The previous average volume of N periods (Periods) to the indecision zone is calculated and check that has a minimum percentage change (Min. Volume Change) with respect to the indecision zone and its subsequent candles (Confirmation Bars).
If the previous steps are met, the zone will be highlighted with a green color for demand (Zones/Demand) and red for supply (Zones/Supply), for the indecision zones (identified by point 1) they will be highlighted in gray (Zones/Indecision)
Invalid zones are automatically hidden from the chart, using methods such as: "wick" and "close".
Settings
Indecision
Min. Factor: Set the number of times that the body of the candle must be repeated in its wicks. High values will be stronger indecision zones, but fewer will be found, low values will find more zones.
Invalidation Method: Method used to automatically invalidate zones. It can be "wick" or "close".
Confirmation Bars: Defines the number of candles used to confirm an indecision zone found
Volume
Min. Volume Change(%): Percentage of minimum change in volume (+/-) that the zone must have to be displayed
Previous Periods: Number of previous periods to be used to calculate the average volume prior to the indecision zone.
Zones
Show Last.- Number of zones (demand, supply, indecision) to be shown.
Demand.- Color to highlight the demand zones
Supply.- Color to highlight the supply zones
Indecision.- Color to highlight the indecision zones
Use
The highlighted supply and demand zones can be used as support or resistance to place orders.
Demand and Supply Candles-openThis Script helps you identify the basing and explosive candles which can be used for Supply and Demand Analysis methodology
Blue Candle represents the Boring Candles ==> Demand and Supply is in balance
Black Candle represents the Exciting Candles ==> imbalance between Demand and Supply
If you are looking for automatic indicator for demand and supply zones, you will have to tradingview home page and in search bar drop down select people and in searchbox "ConfidentSelfTrader", then select SCRIPTS, then click on "Demand and Supply Zones indicator", scroll down and add it as your Favorite Scripts, then you can use "Demand and Supply Zones indicator" for free....
Institutional Zone Detector [Scalping-Algo]█ OVERVIEW
The Institutional Zone Detector identifies key supply and demand zones where large market participants (institutions, banks, hedge funds) have likely placed significant orders. These zones often act as powerful support and resistance levels, making them strategic areas for trade entries and exits.
This indicator is non-repainting, meaning once a signal appears on your chart, it will never disappear or change position. What you see in backtesting is exactly what you would have seen in real-time.
█ CORE CONCEPT
Markets move when large players execute substantial orders. These orders leave footprints in the form of specific candlestick patterns:
Demand Zones (Bullish)
When institutions accumulate positions, we often see a bearish candle followed by a strong bullish sequence. The last bearish candle before this move marks the demand zone - an area where buying pressure overwhelmed sellers.
Supply Zones (Bearish)
When institutions distribute positions, we typically see a bullish candle followed by a strong bearish sequence. The last bullish candle before this move marks the supply zone - an area where selling pressure overwhelmed buyers.
Price has a tendency to revisit these zones, offering potential trade opportunities.
█ HOW IT WORKS
The indicator scans for:
1. A potential zone candle (bearish for demand, bullish for supply)
2. A sequence of consecutive candles in the opposite direction
3. Optional: A minimum percentage move to filter weak signals
When all conditions are met, the zone is marked on your chart with:
• Upper and lower boundaries (solid lines)
• Equilibrium/midpoint level (cross marker)
• Extended channel lines for easy visualization
█ SETTINGS
Consecutive Candles Required (Default: 5)
Number of same-direction candles needed after the zone candle to confirm the pattern. Higher values = fewer but stronger signals.
Minimum Move Threshold % (Default: 0.0)
Minimum percentage price movement required to validate a zone. Increase this to filter out weak moves and focus on significant institutional activity.
Display Full Candle Range (Default: Off)
• Off: Shows Open-to-Low for demand zones, Open-to-High for supply zones
• On: Shows complete High-to-Low range of the zone candle
Show Demand/Supply Zone Channel (Default: On)
Toggle extended horizontal lines that project the zone levels across your chart.
Visual Theme (Default: Dark)
Choose between Dark (white/blue) or Light (green/red) color schemes.
Show Statistics Panel (Default: Off)
Displays a floating panel with exact price levels of the most recent zones.
Display Info Tooltip (Default: Off)
Shows an information label with indicator documentation.
█ HOW TO USE
Entry Strategies
1. Zone Bounce (Mean Reversion)
• Wait for price to return to a previously identified zone
• Look for rejection candles (pin bars, engulfing patterns) at zone levels
• Enter in the direction of the original zone (long at demand, short at supply)
• Place stops beyond the zone boundary
2. Zone Break (Momentum)
• When price breaks through a zone with strong momentum
• The broken zone often becomes the opposite type (broken demand becomes supply)
• Use for trend continuation trades
3. Equilibrium Trades
• The midpoint (cross marker) often acts as a magnet for price
• Can be used as a first target or as an entry point for scaled positions
Risk Management
• Always place stop-loss orders beyond zone boundaries
• Consider the zone width when calculating position size
• Wider zones = wider stops = smaller position size
• Use the equilibrium level for partial profit taking
Best Practices
• Higher timeframes produce more reliable zones
• Zones on multiple timeframes (confluence) are stronger
• Fresh/untested zones are more powerful than zones that have been touched multiple times
• Combine with other analysis methods (trend direction, volume, market structure)
█ ALERTS
Two alert conditions are available:
• "Demand Zone Identified" - Triggers when a new demand zone is detected
• "Supply Zone Identified" - Triggers when a new supply zone is detected
To set up alerts: Click on the indicator name → Add Alert → Select condition
█ IMPORTANT NOTES
• This indicator is a tool for analysis, not a complete trading system
• Signals are NOT automatic buy/sell recommendations
• Always use proper risk management
• Past performance does not guarantee future results
• Works on all markets and timeframes
• Non-repainting: Signals appear only after bar close confirmation
█ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Inspired by institutional order flow concepts and smart money trading methodologies. Built with a focus on reliability and practical application.
COT IndexTHE HIDDEN INTELLIGENCE IN FUTURES MARKETS
What if you could see what the smartest players in the futures markets are doing before the crowd catches on? While retail traders chase momentum indicators and moving averages, obsess over Japanese candlestick patterns, and debate whether the RSI should be set to fourteen or twenty-one periods, institutional players leave footprints in the sand through their mandatory reporting to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These footprints, published weekly in the Commitment of Traders reports, have been hiding in plain sight for decades, available to anyone with an internet connection, yet remarkably few traders understand how to interpret them correctly. The COT Index indicator transforms this raw institutional positioning data into actionable trading signals, bringing Wall Street intelligence to your trading screen without requiring expensive Bloomberg terminals or insider connections.
The uncomfortable truth is this: Most retail traders operate in a binary world. Long or short. Buy or sell. They apply technical analysis to individual positions, constrained by limited capital that forces them to concentrate risk in single directional bets. Meanwhile, institutional traders operate in an entirely different dimension. They manage portfolios dynamically weighted across multiple markets, adjusting exposure based on evolving market conditions, correlation shifts, and risk assessments that retail traders never see. A hedge fund might be simultaneously long gold, short oil, neutral on copper, and overweight agricultural commodities, with position sizes calibrated to volatility and portfolio Greeks. When they increase gold exposure from five percent to eight percent of portfolio allocation, this rebalancing decision reflects sophisticated analysis of opportunity cost, risk parity, and cross-market dynamics that no individual chart pattern can capture.
This portfolio reweighting activity, multiplied across hundreds of institutional participants, manifests in the aggregate positioning data published weekly by the CFTC. The Commitment of Traders report does not show individual trades or strategies. It shows the collective footprint of how actual commercial hedgers and large speculators have allocated their capital across different markets. When mining companies collectively increase forward gold sales to hedge thirty percent more production than last quarter, they are not reacting to a moving average crossover. They are making strategic allocation decisions based on production forecasts, cost structures, and price expectations derived from operational realities invisible to outside observers. This is portfolio management in action, revealed through positioning data rather than price charts.
If you want to understand how institutional capital actually flows, how sophisticated traders genuinely position themselves across market cycles, the COT report provides a rare window into that hidden world. But understand what you are getting into. This is not a tool for scalpers seeking confirmation of the next five-minute move. This is not an oscillator that flashes oversold at market bottoms with convenient precision. COT analysis operates on a timescale measured in weeks and months, revealing positioning shifts that precede major market turns but offer no precision timing. The data arrives three days stale, published only once per week, capturing strategic positioning rather than tactical entries.
If you need instant gratification, if you trade intraday moves, if you demand mechanical signals with ninety percent accuracy, close this document now. COT analysis rewards patience, position sizing discipline, and tolerance for being early. It punishes impatience, overleveraging, and the expectation that any single indicator can substitute for market understanding.
The premise is deceptively simple. Every Tuesday, large traders in futures markets must report their positions to the CFTC. By Friday afternoon, this data becomes public. Academic research spanning three decades has consistently shown that not all market participants are created equal. Some traders consistently profit while others consistently lose. Some anticipate major turning points while others chase trends into exhaustion. Bessembinder and Chan (1992) demonstrated in their seminal study that commercial hedgers, those with actual exposure to the underlying commodity or financial instrument, possess superior forecasting ability compared to speculators. Their research, published in the Journal of Finance, found statistically significant predictive power in commercial positioning, particularly at extreme levels. This finding challenged the efficient market hypothesis and opened the door to a new approach to market analysis based on positioning rather than price alone.
Think about what this means. Every week, the government publishes a report showing you exactly how the most informed market participants are positioned. Not their opinions. Not their predictions. Their actual money at risk. When agricultural producers collectively hold their largest short hedge in five years, they are not making idle speculation. They are locking in prices for crops they will harvest, informed by private knowledge of weather conditions, soil quality, inventory levels, and demand expectations invisible to outside observers. When energy companies aggressively hedge forward production at current prices, they reveal information about expected supply that no analyst report can capture. This is not technical analysis based on past prices. This is not fundamental analysis based on publicly available data. This is behavioral analysis based on how the smartest money is actually positioned, how institutions allocate capital across portfolios, and how those allocation decisions shift as market conditions evolve.
WHY SOME TRADERS KNOW MORE THAN OTHERS
Building on this foundation, Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004) conducted extensive research examining the behaviour patterns of different trader categories. Their work, which analyzed over a decade of COT data across multiple commodity markets, revealed a fascinating dynamic that challenges much of what retail traders are taught. Commercial hedgers consistently positioned themselves against market extremes, buying when speculators were most bearish and selling when speculators reached peak bullishness. The contrarian positioning of commercials was not random noise but rather reflected their superior information about supply and demand fundamentals. Meanwhile, large speculators, primarily hedge funds and commodity trading advisors, exhibited strong trend-following behaviour that often amplified market moves beyond fundamental values. Small traders, the retail participants, consistently entered positions late in trends, frequently near turning points, making them reliable contrary indicators.
Wang (2003) extended this research by demonstrating that the predictive power of commercial positioning varies significantly across different commodity sectors. His analysis of agricultural commodities showed particularly strong forecasting ability, with commercial net positions explaining up to fifteen percent of return variance in subsequent weeks. This finding suggests that the informational advantages of hedgers are most pronounced in markets where physical supply and demand fundamentals dominate, as opposed to purely financial markets where information asymmetries are smaller. When a corn farmer hedges six months of expected harvest, that decision incorporates private observations about rainfall patterns, crop health, pest pressure, and local storage capacity that no distant analyst can match. When an oil refinery hedges crude oil purchases and gasoline sales simultaneously, the spread relationships reveal expectations about refining margins that reflect operational realities invisible in public data.
The theoretical mechanism underlying these empirical patterns relates to information asymmetry and different participant motivations. Commercial hedgers engage in futures markets not for speculative profit but to manage business risks. An agricultural producer selling forward six months of expected harvest is not making a bet on price direction but rather locking in revenue to facilitate financial planning and ensure business viability. However, this hedging activity necessarily incorporates private information about expected supply, inventory levels, weather conditions, and demand trends that the hedger observes through their commercial operations (Irwin and Sanders, 2012). When aggregated across many participants, this private information manifests in collective positioning.
Consider a gold mining company deciding how much forward production to hedge. Management must estimate ore grades, recovery rates, production costs, equipment reliability, labor availability, and dozens of other operational variables that determine whether locking in prices at current levels makes business sense. If the industry collectively hedges more aggressively than usual, it suggests either exceptional production expectations or concern about sustaining current price levels or combination of both. Either way, this positioning reveals information unavailable to speculators analyzing price charts and economic data. The hedger sees the physical reality behind the financial abstraction.
Large speculators operate under entirely different incentives and constraints. Commodity Trading Advisors managing billions in assets typically employ systematic, trend-following strategies that respond to price momentum rather than fundamental supply and demand. When crude oil rallies from sixty dollars to seventy dollars per barrel, these systems generate buy signals. As the rally continues to eighty dollars, position sizes increase. The strategy works brilliantly during sustained trends but becomes a liability at reversals. By the time oil reaches ninety dollars, trend-following funds are maximally long, having accumulated positions progressively throughout the rally. At this point, they represent not smart money anticipating further gains but rather crowded money vulnerable to reversal. Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004) documented this pattern across multiple energy markets, showing that extreme speculator positioning typically marked late-stage trend exhaustion rather than early-stage trend development.
Small traders, the retail participants who fall below reporting thresholds, display the weakest forecasting ability. Wang (2003) found that small trader positioning exhibited negative correlation with subsequent returns, meaning their aggregate positioning served as a reliable contrary indicator. The explanation combines several factors. Retail traders often lack the capital reserves to weather normal market volatility, leading to premature exits from positions that would eventually prove profitable. They tend to receive information through slower channels, entering trends after mainstream media coverage when institutional participants are preparing to exit. Perhaps most importantly, they trade with emotion, buying into euphoria and selling into panic at precisely the wrong times.
At major turning points, the three groups often position opposite each other with commercials extremely bearish, large speculators extremely bullish, and small traders piling into longs at the last moment. These high-divergence environments frequently precede increased volatility and trend reversals. The insiders with business exposure quietly exit as the momentum traders hit maximum capacity and retail enthusiasm peaks. Within weeks, the reversal begins, and positions unwind in the opposite sequence.
FROM RAW DATA TO ACTIONABLE SIGNALS
The COT Index indicator operationalizes these academic findings into a practical trading tool accessible through TradingView. At its core, the indicator normalizes net positioning data onto a zero to one hundred scale, creating what we call the COT Index. This normalization is critical because absolute position sizes vary dramatically across different futures contracts and over time. A commercial trader holding fifty thousand contracts net long in crude oil might be extremely bullish by historical standards, or it might be quite neutral depending on the context of total market size and historical ranges. Raw position numbers mean nothing without context. The COT Index solves this problem by calculating where current positioning stands relative to its range over a specified lookback period, typically two hundred fifty-two weeks or approximately five years of weekly data.
The mathematical transformation follows the methodology originally popularized by legendary trader Larry Williams, though the underlying concept appears in statistical normalization techniques across many fields. For any given trader category, we calculate the highest and lowest net position values over the lookback period, establishing the historical range for that specific market and trader group. Current positioning is then expressed as a percentage of this range, where zero represents the most bearish positioning ever seen in the lookback window and one hundred represents the most bullish extreme. A reading of fifty indicates positioning exactly in the middle of the historical range, suggesting neither extreme optimism nor pessimism relative to recent history (Williams and Noseworthy, 2009).
This index-based approach allows for meaningful comparison across different markets and time periods, overcoming the scaling problems inherent in analyzing raw position data. A commercial index reading of eighty-five in gold carries the same interpretive meaning as an eighty-five reading in wheat or crude oil, even though the absolute position sizes differ by orders of magnitude. This standardization enables systematic analysis across entire futures portfolios rather than requiring market-specific expertise for each contract.
The lookback period selection involves a fundamental tradeoff between responsiveness and stability. Shorter lookback periods, perhaps one hundred twenty-six weeks or approximately two and a half years, make the index more sensitive to recent positioning changes. However, it also increases noise and produces more false signals. Longer lookback periods, perhaps five hundred weeks or approximately ten years, create smoother readings that filter short-term noise but become slower to recognize regime changes. The indicator settings allow users to adjust this parameter based on their trading timeframe, risk tolerance, and market characteristics.
UNDERSTANDING CFTC DATA STRUCTURES
The indicator supports both Legacy and Disaggregated COT report formats, reflecting the evolution of CFTC reporting standards over decades of market development. Legacy reports categorize market participants into three broad groups: commercial traders (hedgers with underlying business exposure), non-commercial traders (large speculators seeking profit without commercial interest), and non-reportable traders (small speculators below reporting thresholds). Each category brings distinct motivations and information advantages to the market (CFTC, 2020).
The Disaggregated reports, introduced in September 2009 for physical commodity markets, provide finer granularity by splitting participants into five categories (CFTC, 2009). Producer and merchant positions capture those actually producing, processing, or merchandising the physical commodity. Swap dealers represent financial intermediaries facilitating derivative transactions for clients. Managed money includes commodity trading advisors and hedge funds executing systematic or discretionary strategies. Other reportables encompasses diverse participants not fitting the main categories. Small traders remain as the fifth group, representing retail participation.
This enhanced categorization reveals nuances invisible in Legacy reports, particularly distinguishing between different types of institutional capital and their distinct behavioural patterns. The indicator automatically detects which report type is appropriate for each futures contract and adjusts the display accordingly.
Importantly, Disaggregated reports exist only for physical commodity futures. Agricultural commodities like corn, wheat, and soybeans have Disaggregated reports because clear producer, merchant, and swap dealer categories exist. Energy commodities like crude oil and natural gas similarly have well-defined commercial hedger categories. Metals including gold, silver, and copper also receive Disaggregated treatment (CFTC, 2009). However, financial futures such as equity index futures, Treasury bond futures, and currency futures remain available only in Legacy format. The CFTC has indicated no plans to extend Disaggregated reporting to financial futures due to different market structures and participant categories in these instruments (CFTC, 2020).
THE BEHAVIORAL FOUNDATION
Understanding which trader perspective to follow requires appreciation of their distinct trading styles, success rates, and psychological profiles. Commercial hedgers exhibit anticyclical behaviour rooted in their fundamental knowledge and business imperatives. When agricultural producers hedge forward sales during harvest season, they are not speculating on price direction but rather locking in revenue for crops they will harvest. Their business requires converting volatile commodity exposure into predictable cash flows to facilitate planning and ensure survival through difficult periods. Yet their aggregate positioning reveals valuable information because these hedging decisions incorporate private information about supply conditions, inventory levels, weather observations, and demand expectations that hedgers observe through their commercial operations (Bessembinder and Chan, 1992).
Consider a practical example from energy markets. Major oil companies continuously hedge portions of forward production based on price levels, operational costs, and financial planning needs. When crude oil trades at ninety dollars per barrel, they might aggressively hedge the next twelve months of production, locking in prices that provide comfortable profit margins above their extraction costs. This hedging appears as short positioning in COT reports. If oil rallies further to one hundred dollars, they hedge even more aggressively, viewing these prices as exceptional opportunities to secure revenue. Their short positioning grows increasingly extreme. To an outside observer watching only price charts, the rally suggests bullishness. But the commercial positioning reveals that the actual producers of oil find these prices attractive enough to lock in years of sales, suggesting skepticism about sustaining even higher levels. When the eventual reversal occurs and oil declines back to eighty dollars, the commercials who hedged at ninety and one hundred dollars profit while speculators who chased the rally suffer losses.
Large speculators or managed money traders operate under entirely different incentives and constraints. Their systematic, momentum-driven strategies mean they amplify existing trends rather than anticipate reversals. Trend-following systems, the most common approach among large speculators, by definition require confirmation of trend through price momentum before entering positions (Sanders, Boris and Manfredo, 2004). When crude oil rallies from sixty dollars to eighty dollars per barrel over several months, trend-following algorithms generate buy signals based on moving average crossovers, breakouts, and other momentum indicators. As the rally continues, position sizes increase according to the systematic rules.
However, this approach becomes a liability at turning points. By the time oil reaches ninety dollars after a sustained rally, trend-following funds are maximally long, having accumulated positions progressively throughout the move. At this point, their positioning does not predict continued strength. Rather, it often marks late-stage trend exhaustion. The psychological and mechanical explanation is straightforward. Trend followers by definition chase price momentum, entering positions after trends establish rather than anticipating them. Eventually, they become fully invested just as the trend nears completion, leaving no incremental buying power to sustain the rally. When the first signs of reversal appear, systematic stops trigger, creating a cascade of selling that accelerates the downturn.
Small traders consistently display the weakest track record across academic studies. Wang (2003) found that small trader positioning exhibited negative correlation with subsequent returns in his analysis across multiple commodity markets. This result means that whatever small traders collectively do, the opposite typically proves profitable. The explanation for small trader underperformance combines several factors documented in behavioral finance literature. Retail traders often lack the capital reserves to weather normal market volatility, leading to premature exits from positions that would eventually prove profitable. They tend to receive information through slower channels, learning about commodity trends through mainstream media coverage that arrives after institutional participants have already positioned. Perhaps most importantly, retail traders are more susceptible to emotional decision-making, buying into euphoria and selling into panic at precisely the wrong times (Tharp, 2008).
SETTINGS, THRESHOLDS, AND SIGNAL GENERATION
The practical implementation of the COT Index requires understanding several key features and settings that users can adjust to match their trading style, timeframe, and risk tolerance. The lookback period determines the time window for calculating historical ranges. The default setting of two hundred fifty-two bars represents approximately one year on daily charts or five years on weekly charts, balancing responsiveness with stability. Conservative traders seeking only the most extreme, highest-probability signals might extend the lookback to five hundred bars or more. Aggressive traders seeking earlier entry and willing to accept more false positives might reduce it to one hundred twenty-six bars or even less for shorter-term applications.
The bullish and bearish thresholds define signal generation levels. Default settings of eighty and twenty respectively reflect academic research suggesting meaningful information content at these extremes. Readings above eighty indicate positioning in the top quintile of the historical range, representing genuine extremes rather than temporary fluctuations. Conversely, readings below twenty occupy the bottom quintile, indicating unusually bearish positioning (Briese, 2008).
However, traders must recognize that appropriate thresholds vary by market, trader category, and personal risk tolerance. Some futures markets exhibit wider positioning swings than others due to seasonal patterns, volatility characteristics, or participant behavior. Conservative traders seeking high-probability setups with fewer signals might raise thresholds to eighty-five and fifteen. Aggressive traders willing to accept more false positives for earlier entry could lower them to seventy-five and twenty-five.
The key is maintaining meaningful differentiation between bullish, neutral, and bearish zones. The default settings of eighty and twenty create a clear three-zone structure. Readings from zero to twenty represent bearish territory where the selected trader group holds unusually bearish positions. Readings from twenty to eighty represent neutral territory where positioning falls within normal historical ranges. Readings from eighty to one hundred represent bullish territory where the selected trader group holds unusually bullish positions.
The trading perspective selection determines which participant group the indicator follows, fundamentally shaping interpretation and signal meaning. For counter-trend traders seeking reversal opportunities, monitoring commercial positioning makes intuitive sense based on the academic research discussed earlier. When commercials reach extreme bearish readings below twenty, indicating unprecedented short positioning relative to recent history, they are effectively betting against the crowd. Given their informational advantages demonstrated by Bessembinder and Chan (1992), this contrarian stance often precedes major bottoms.
Trend followers might instead monitor large speculator positioning, but with inverted logic compared to commercials. When managed money reaches extreme bullish readings above eighty, the trend may be exhausting rather than accelerating. This seeming paradox reflects their late-cycle participation documented by Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004). Sophisticated traders thus use speculator extremes as fade signals, entering positions opposite to speculator consensus.
Small trader monitoring serves primarily as a contrary indicator for all trading styles. Extreme small trader bullishness above seventy-five or eighty typically warns of retail FOMO at market tops. Extreme small trader bearishness below twenty or twenty-five often marks capitulation bottoms where the last weak hands have sold.
VISUALIZATION AND USER INTERFACE
The visual design incorporates multiple elements working together to facilitate decision-making and maintain situational awareness during active trading. The primary COT Index line plots in bold with adjustable line width, defaulting to two pixels for clear visibility against busy price charts. An optional glow effect, controlled by a simple toggle, adds additional visual prominence through multiple plot layers with progressively increasing transparency and width.
A twenty-one period exponential moving average overlays the index line, providing trend context for positioning changes. When the index crosses above its moving average, it signals accelerating bullish sentiment among the selected trader group regardless of whether absolute positioning is extreme. Conversely, when the index crosses below its moving average, it signals deteriorating sentiment and potentially the beginning of a reversal in positioning trends.
The EMA provides a dynamic reference line for assessing positioning momentum. When the index trades far above its EMA, positioning is not only extreme in absolute terms but also building with momentum. When the index trades far below its EMA, positioning is contracting or reversing, which may indicate weakening conviction even if absolute levels remain elevated.
The data table positioned at the top right of the chart displays eleven metrics for each trader category, transforming the indicator from a simple index calculation into an analytical dashboard providing multidimensional market intelligence. Beyond the COT Index itself, users can monitor positioning extremity, which measures how unusual current levels are compared to historical norms using statistical techniques. The extremity metric clarifies whether a reading represents the ninety-fifth or ninety-ninth percentile, with values above two standard deviations indicating genuinely exceptional positioning.
Market power quantifies each group's influence on total open interest. This metric expresses each trader category's net position as a percentage of total market open interest. A commercial entity holding forty percent of total open interest commands significantly more influence than one holding five percent, making their positioning signals more meaningful.
Momentum and rate of change metrics reveal whether positions are building or contracting, providing early warning of potential regime shifts. Position velocity measures the rate of change in positioning changes, effectively a second derivative providing even earlier insight into inflection points.
Sentiment divergence highlights disagreements between commercial and speculative positioning. This metric calculates the absolute difference between normalized commercial and large speculator index values. Wang (2003) found that these high-divergence environments frequently preceded increased volatility and reversals.
The table also displays concentration metrics when available, showing how positioning is distributed among the largest handful of traders in each category. High concentration indicates a few dominant players controlling most of the positioning, while low concentration suggests broad-based participation across many traders.
THE ALERT SYSTEM AND MONITORING
The alert system, comprising five distinct alert conditions, enables systematic monitoring of dozens of futures markets without constant screen watching. The bullish and bearish COT signal alerts trigger when the index crosses user-defined thresholds, indicating the selected trader group has reached extreme positioning worthy of attention. These alerts fire in real-time as new weekly COT data publishes, typically Friday afternoon following the Tuesday measurement date.
Extreme positioning alerts fire at ninety and ten index levels, representing the top and bottom ten percent of the historical range, warning of particularly stretched readings that historically precede reversals with high probability. When commercials reach a COT Index reading below ten, they are expressing their most bearish stance in the entire lookback period.
The data staleness alert notifies users when COT reports have not updated for more than ten days, preventing reliance on outdated information for trading decisions. Government shutdowns or federal holidays can interrupt the normal Friday publication schedule. Using stale signals while believing them current creates dangerous false confidence.
The indicator's watermark information display positioned in the bottom right corner provides essential context at a glance. This persistent display shows the symbol and timeframe, the COT report date timestamp, days since last update, and the current signal state. A trader analyzing a potential short entry in crude oil can glance at the watermark to instantly confirm positioning context without interrupting analysis flow.
LIMITATIONS AND REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Practical application requires understanding both the indicator's considerable strengths and inherent limitations. COT data inherently lags price action by three days, as Tuesday positions are not published until Friday afternoon. This delay means the indicator cannot catch rapid intraday reversals or respond to surprise news events. Traders using the COT Index for timing entries must accept this latency and focus on swing trading and position trading timeframes where three-day lags matter less than in day trading or scalping.
The weekly publication schedule similarly makes the indicator unsuitable for short-term trading strategies requiring immediate feedback. The COT Index works best for traders operating on weekly or longer timeframes, where positioning shifts measured in weeks and months align with trading horizon.
Extreme COT readings can persist far longer than typical technical indicators suggest, testing the patience and capital reserves of traders attempting to fade them. When crude oil enters a sustained bull market driven by genuine supply disruptions, commercial hedgers may maintain bearish positioning for many months as prices grind higher. A commercial COT Index reading of fifteen indicating extreme bearishness might persist for three months while prices continue rallying before finally reversing. Traders without sufficient capital and risk tolerance to weather such drawdowns will exit prematurely, precisely when the signal is about to work (Irwin and Sanders, 2012).
Position sizing discipline becomes paramount when implementing COT-based strategies. Rather than risking large percentages of capital on individual signals, successful COT traders typically allocate modest position sizes across multiple signals, allowing some to take time to mature while others work more quickly.
The indicator also cannot overcome fundamental regime changes that alter the structural drivers of markets. If gold enters a true secular bull market driven by monetary debasement, commercial hedgers may remain persistently bearish as mining companies sell forward years of production at what they perceive as favorable prices. Their positioning indicates valuation concerns from a production cost perspective, but cannot stop prices from rising if investment demand overwhelms physical supply-demand balance.
Similarly, structural changes in market participation can alter the meaning of positioning extremes. The growth of commodity index investing in the two thousands brought massive passive long-only capital into futures markets, fundamentally changing typical positioning ranges. Traders relying on COT signals without recognizing this regime change would have generated numerous false bearish signals during the commodity supercycle from 2003 to 2008.
The research foundation supporting COT analysis derives primarily from commodity markets where the commercial hedger information advantage is most pronounced. Studies specifically examining financial futures like equity indices and bonds show weaker but still present effects. Traders should calibrate expectations accordingly, recognizing that COT analysis likely works better for crude oil, natural gas, corn, and wheat than for the S&P 500, Treasury bonds, or currency futures.
Another important limitation involves the reporting threshold structure. Not all market participants appear in COT data, only those holding positions above specified minimums. In markets dominated by a few large players, concentration metrics become critical for proper interpretation. A single large trader accounting for thirty percent of commercial positioning might skew the entire category if their individual circumstances are idiosyncratic rather than representative.
GOLD FUTURES DURING A HYPOTHETICAL MARKET CYCLE
Consider a practical example using gold futures during a hypothetical but realistic market scenario that illustrates how the COT Index indicator guides trading decisions through a complete market cycle. Suppose gold has rallied from fifteen hundred to nineteen hundred dollars per ounce over six months, driven by inflation concerns following aggressive monetary expansion, geopolitical uncertainty, and sustained buying by Asian central banks for reserve diversification.
Large speculators, operating primarily trend-following strategies, have accumulated increasingly bullish positions throughout this rally. Their COT Index has climbed progressively from forty-five to eighty-five. The table display shows that large speculators now hold net long positions representing thirty-two percent of total open interest, their highest in four years. Momentum indicators show positive readings, indicating positions are still building though at a decelerating rate. Position velocity has turned negative, suggesting the pace of position building is slowing.
Meanwhile, commercial hedgers have responded to the rally by aggressively selling forward production and inventory. Their COT Index has moved inversely to price, declining from fifty-five to twenty. This bearish commercial positioning represents mining companies locking in forward sales at prices they view as attractive relative to production costs. The table shows commercials now hold net short positions representing twenty-nine percent of total open interest, their most bearish stance in five years. Concentration metrics indicate this positioning is broadly distributed across many commercial entities, suggesting the bearish stance reflects collective industry view rather than idiosyncratic positioning by a single firm.
Small traders, attracted by mainstream financial media coverage of gold's impressive rally, have recently piled into long positions. Their COT Index has jumped from forty-five to seventy-eight as retail investors chase the trend. Television financial networks feature frequent segments on gold with bullish guests. Internet forums and social media show surging retail interest. This retail enthusiasm historically marks late-stage trend development rather than early opportunity.
The COT Index indicator, configured to monitor commercial positioning from a contrarian perspective, displays a clear bearish signal given the extreme commercial short positioning. The table displays multiple confirming metrics: positioning extremity shows commercials at the ninety-sixth percentile of bearishness, market power indicates they control twenty-nine percent of open interest, and sentiment divergence registers sixty-five, indicating massive disagreement between commercial hedgers and large speculators. This divergence, the highest in three years, places the market in the historically high-risk category for reversals.
The interpretation requires nuance and consideration of context beyond just COT data. Commercials are not necessarily predicting an imminent crash. Rather, they are hedging business operations at what they collectively view as favorable price levels. However, the data reveals they have sold unusually large quantities of forward production, suggesting either exceptional production expectations for the year ahead or concern about sustaining current price levels or combination of both. Combined with extreme speculator positioning indicating a crowded long trade, and small trader enthusiasm confirming retail FOMO, the confluence suggests elevated reversal risk even if the precise timing remains uncertain.
A prudent trader analyzing this situation might take several actions based on COT Index signals. Existing long positions could be tightened with closer stop losses. Profit-taking on a portion of long exposure could lock in gains while maintaining some participation. Some traders might initiate modest short positions as portfolio hedges, sizing them appropriately for the inherent uncertainty in timing reversals. Others might simply move to the sidelines, avoiding new long entries until positioning normalizes.
The key lesson from case study analysis is that COT signals provide probabilistic edges rather than deterministic predictions. They work over many observations by identifying higher-probability configurations, not by generating perfect calls on individual trades. A fifty-five percent win rate with proper risk management produces substantial profits over time, yet still means forty-five percent of signals will be premature or wrong. Traders must embrace this probabilistic reality rather than seeking the impossible goal of perfect accuracy.
INTEGRATION WITH TRADING SYSTEMS
Integration with existing trading systems represents a natural and powerful use case for COT analysis, adding a positioning dimension to price-based technical approaches or fundamental analytical frameworks. Few traders rely exclusively on a single indicator or methodology. Rather, they build systems that synthesize multiple information sources, with each component addressing different aspects of market behavior.
Trend followers might use COT extremes as regime filters, modifying position sizing or avoiding new trend entries when positioning reaches levels historically associated with reversals. Consider a classic trend-following system based on moving average crossovers and momentum breakouts. Integration of COT analysis adds nuance. When large speculator positioning exceeds ninety or commercial positioning falls below ten, the regime filter recognizes elevated reversal risk. The system might reduce position sizing by fifty percent for new signals during these high-risk periods (Kaufman, 2013).
Mean reversion traders might require COT signal confluence before fading extended moves. When crude oil becomes technically overbought and large speculators show extreme long positioning above eighty-five, both signals confirm. If only technical indicators show extremes while positioning remains neutral, the potential short signal is rejected, avoiding fades of trends with underlying institutional support (Kaufman, 2013).
Discretionary traders can monitor the indicator as a continuous awareness tool, informing bias and position sizing without dictating mechanical entries and exits. A discretionary trader might notice commercial positioning shifting from neutral to progressively more bullish over several months. This trend informs growing positive bias even without triggering mechanical signals.
Multi-timeframe analysis represents another powerful integration approach. A trader might use daily charts for trade execution and timing while monitoring weekly COT positioning for strategic context. When both timeframes align, highest-probability opportunities emerge.
Portfolio construction for futures traders can incorporate COT signals as an additional selection criterion. Markets showing strong technical setups AND favorable COT positioning receive highest allocations. Markets with strong technicals but neutral or unfavorable positioning receive reduced allocations.
ADVANCED METRICS AND INTERPRETATION
The metrics table transforms simple positioning data into multidimensional market intelligence. Position extremity, calculated as the absolute deviation from the historical mean normalized by standard deviation, helps identify truly unusual readings versus routine fluctuations. A reading above two standard deviations indicates ninety-fifth percentile or higher extremity. Above three standard deviations indicates ninety-ninth percentile or higher, genuinely rare positioning that historically precedes major events with high probability.
Market power, expressed as a percentage of total open interest, reveals whose positioning matters most from a mechanical market impact perspective. Consider two scenarios in gold futures. In scenario one, commercials show a COT Index reading of fifteen while their market power metric shows they hold net shorts representing thirty-five percent of open interest. This is a high-confidence bearish signal. In scenario two, commercials also show a reading of fifteen, but market power shows only eight percent. While positioning is extreme relative to this category's normal range, their limited market share means less mechanical influence on price.
The rate of change and momentum metrics highlight whether positions are accelerating or decelerating, often providing earlier warnings than absolute levels alone. A COT Index reading of seventy-five with rapidly building momentum suggests continued movement toward extremes. Conversely, a reading of eighty-five with decelerating or negative momentum indicates the positioning trend is exhausting.
Position velocity measures the rate of change in positioning changes, effectively a second derivative. When velocity shifts from positive to negative, it indicates that while positioning may still be growing, the pace of growth is slowing. This deceleration often precedes actual reversal in positioning direction by several weeks.
Sentiment divergence calculates the absolute difference between normalized commercial and large speculator index values. When commercials show extreme bearish positioning at twenty while large speculators show extreme bullish positioning at eighty, the divergence reaches sixty, representing near-maximum disagreement. Wang (2003) found that these high-divergence environments frequently preceded increased volatility and reversals. The mechanism is intuitive. Extreme divergence indicates the informed hedgers and momentum-following speculators have positioned opposite each other with conviction. One group will prove correct and profit while the other proves incorrect and suffers losses. The resolution of this disagreement through price movement often involves volatility.
The table also displays concentration metrics when available. High concentration indicates a few dominant players controlling most of the positioning within a category, while low concentration suggests broad-based participation. Broad-based positioning more reliably reflects collective market intelligence and industry consensus. If mining companies globally all independently decide to hedge aggressively at similar price levels, it suggests genuine industry-wide view about price valuations rather than circumstances specific to one firm.
DATA QUALITY AND RELIABILITY
The CFTC has maintained COT reporting in various forms since the nineteen twenties, providing nearly a century of positioning data across multiple market cycles. However, data quality and reporting standards have evolved substantially over this long period. Modern electronic reporting implemented in the late nineteen nineties and early two thousands significantly improved accuracy and timeliness compared to earlier paper-based systems.
Traders should understand that COT reports capture positions as of Tuesday's close each week. Markets remain open three additional days before publication on Friday afternoon, meaning the reported data is three days stale when received. During periods of rapid market movement or major news events, this lag can be significant. The indicator addresses this limitation by including timestamp information and staleness warnings.
The three-day lag creates particular challenges during extreme volatility episodes. Flash crashes, surprise central bank interventions, geopolitical shocks, and other high-impact events can completely transform market positioning within hours. Traders must exercise judgment about whether reported positioning remains relevant given intervening events.
Reporting thresholds also mean that not all market participants appear in disaggregated COT data. Traders holding positions below specified minimums aggregate into the non-reportable or small trader category. This aggregation affects different markets differently. In highly liquid contracts like crude oil with thousands of participants, reportable traders might represent seventy to eighty percent of open interest. In thinly traded contracts with only dozens of active participants, a few large reportable positions might represent ninety-five percent of open interest.
Another data quality consideration involves trader classification into categories. The CFTC assigns traders to commercial or non-commercial categories based on reported business purpose and activities. However, this process is not perfect. Some entities engage in both commercial and speculative activities, creating ambiguity about proper classification. The transition to Disaggregated reports attempted to address some of these ambiguities by creating more granular categories.
COMPARISON WITH ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
Several alternative approaches to COT analysis exist in the trading community beyond the normalization methodology employed by this indicator. Some analysts focus on absolute position changes week-over-week rather than index-based normalization. This approach calculates the change in net positioning from one week to the next. The emphasis falls on momentum in positioning changes rather than absolute levels relative to history. This method potentially identifies regime shifts earlier but sacrifices cross-market comparability (Briese, 2008).
Other practitioners employ more complex statistical transformations including percentile rankings, z-score standardization, and machine learning classification algorithms. Ruan and Zhang (2018) demonstrated that machine learning models applied to COT data could achieve modest improvements in forecasting accuracy compared to simple threshold-based approaches. However, these gains came at the cost of interpretability and implementation complexity.
The COT Index indicator intentionally employs a relatively straightforward normalization methodology for several important reasons. First, transparency enhances user understanding and trust. Traders can verify calculations manually and develop intuitive feel for what different readings mean. Second, academic research suggests that most of the predictive power in COT data comes from extreme positioning levels rather than subtle patterns requiring complex statistical methods to detect. Third, robust methods that work consistently across many markets and time periods tend to be simpler rather than more complex, reducing the risk of overfitting to historical data. Fourth, the complexity costs of implementation matter for retail traders without programming teams or computational infrastructure.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF COT TRADING
Trading based on COT data requires psychological fortitude that differs from momentum-based approaches. Contrarian positioning signals inherently mean betting against prevailing market sentiment and recent price action. When commercials reach extreme bearish positioning, prices have typically been rising, sometimes for extended periods. The price chart looks bullish, momentum indicators confirm strength, moving averages align positively. The COT signal says bet against all of this. This psychological difficulty explains why COT analysis remains underutilized relative to trend-following methods.
Human psychology strongly predisposes us toward extrapolation and recency bias. When prices rally for months, our pattern-matching brains naturally expect continued rally. The recent price action dominates our perception, overwhelming rational analysis about positioning extremes and historical probabilities. The COT signal asking us to sell requires overriding these powerful psychological impulses.
The indicator design attempts to support the required psychological discipline through several features. Clear threshold markers and signal states reduce ambiguity about when signals trigger. When the commercial index crosses below twenty, the signal is explicit and unambiguous. The background shifts to red, the signal label displays bearish, and alerts fire. This explicitness helps traders act on signals rather than waiting for additional confirmation that may never arrive.
The metrics table provides analytical justification for contrarian positions, helping traders maintain conviction during inevitable periods of adverse price movement. When a trader enters short positions based on extreme commercial bearish positioning but prices continue rallying for several weeks, doubt naturally emerges. The table display provides reassurance. Commercial positioning remains extremely bearish. Divergence remains high. The positioning thesis remains intact even though price action has not yet confirmed.
Alert functionality ensures traders do not miss signals due to inattention while also not requiring constant monitoring that can lead to emotional decision-making. Setting alerts for COT extremes enables a healthier relationship with markets. When meaningful signals occur, alerts notify them. They can then calmly assess the situation and execute planned responses.
However, no indicator design can completely overcome the psychological difficulty of contrarian trading. Some traders simply cannot maintain short positions while prices rally. For these traders, COT analysis might be better employed as an exit signal for long positions rather than an entry signal for shorts.
Ultimately, successful COT trading requires developing comfort with probabilistic thinking rather than certainty-seeking. The signals work over many observations by identifying higher-probability configurations, not by generating perfect calls on individual trades. A fifty-five or sixty percent win rate with proper risk management produces substantial profits over years, yet still means forty to forty-five percent of signals will be premature or wrong. COT analysis provides genuine edge, but edge means probability advantage, not elimination of losing trades.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING
The indicator provides extensive built-in educational resources through its documentation, detailed tooltips, and transparent calculations. However, mastering COT analysis requires study beyond any single tool or resource. Several excellent resources provide valuable extensions of the concepts covered in this guide.
Books and practitioner-focused monographs offer accessible entry points. Stephen Briese published The Commitments of Traders Bible in two thousand eight, offering detailed breakdowns of how different markets and trader categories behave (Briese, 2008). Briese's work stands out for its empirical focus and market-specific insights. Jack Schwager includes discussion of COT analysis within the broader context of market behavior in his book Market Sense and Nonsense (Schwager, 2012). Perry Kaufman's Trading Systems and Methods represents perhaps the most rigorous practitioner-focused text on systematic trading approaches including COT analysis (Kaufman, 2013).
Academic journal articles provide the rigorous statistical foundation underlying COT analysis. The Journal of Futures Markets regularly publishes research on positioning data and its predictive properties. Bessembinder and Chan's earlier work on systematic risk, hedging pressure, and risk premiums in futures markets provides theoretical foundation (Bessembinder, 1992). Chang's examination of speculator returns provides historical context (Chang, 1985). Irwin and Sanders provide essential skeptical perspective in their two thousand twelve article (Irwin and Sanders, 2012). Wang's two thousand three article provides one of the most empirical analyses of COT data across multiple commodity markets (Wang, 2003).
Online resources extend beyond academic and book-length treatments. The CFTC website provides free access to current and historical COT reports in multiple formats. The explanatory materials section offers detailed documentation of report construction, category definitions, and historical methodology changes. Traders serious about COT analysis should read these official CFTC documents to understand exactly what they are analyzing.
Commercial COT data services such as Barchart provide enhanced visualization and analysis tools beyond raw CFTC data. TradingView's educational materials, published scripts library, and user community provide additional resources for exploring different approaches to COT analysis.
The key to mastering COT analysis lies not in finding a single definitive source but rather in building understanding through multiple perspectives and information sources. Academic research provides rigorous empirical foundation. Practitioner-focused books offer practical implementation insights. Direct engagement with data through systematic backtesting develops intuition about how positioning dynamics manifest across different market conditions.
SYNTHESIZING KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICE
The COT Index indicator represents the synthesis of academic research, trading experience, and software engineering into a practical tool accessible to retail traders equipped with nothing more than a TradingView account and willingness to learn. What once required expensive data subscriptions, custom programming capabilities, statistical software, and institutional resources now appears as a straightforward indicator requiring only basic parameter selection and modest study to understand. This democratization of institutional-grade analysis tools represents a broader trend in financial markets over recent decades.
Yet technology and data access alone provide no edge without understanding and discipline. Markets remain relentlessly efficient at eliminating edges that become too widely known and mechanically exploited. The COT Index indicator succeeds only when users invest time learning the underlying concepts, understand the limitations and probability distributions involved, and integrate signals thoughtfully into trading plans rather than applying them mechanically.
The academic research demonstrates conclusively that institutional positioning contains genuine information about future price movements, particularly at extremes where commercial hedgers are maximally bearish or bullish relative to historical norms. This informational content is neither perfect nor deterministic but rather probabilistic, providing edge over many observations through identification of higher-probability configurations. Bessembinder and Chan's finding that commercial positioning explained modest but significant variance in future returns illustrates this probabilistic nature perfectly (Bessembinder and Chan, 1992). The effect is real and statistically significant, yet it explains perhaps ten to fifteen percent of return variance rather than most variance. Much of price movement remains unpredictable even with positioning intelligence.
The practical implication is that COT analysis works best as one component of a trading system rather than a standalone oracle. It provides the positioning dimension, revealing where the smart money has positioned and where the crowd has followed, but price action analysis provides the timing dimension. Fundamental analysis provides the catalyst dimension. Risk management provides the survival dimension. These components work together synergistically.
The indicator's design philosophy prioritizes transparency and education over black-box complexity, empowering traders to understand exactly what they are analyzing and why. Every calculation is documented and user-adjustable. The threshold markers, background coloring, tables, and clear signal states provide multiple reinforcing channels for conveying the same information.
This educational approach reflects a conviction that sustainable trading success comes from genuine understanding rather than mechanical system-following. Traders who understand why commercial positioning matters, how different trader categories behave, what positioning extremes signify, and where signals fit within probability distributions can adapt when market conditions change. Traders mechanically following black-box signals without comprehension abandon systems after normal losing streaks.
The research foundation supporting COT analysis comes primarily from commodity markets where commercial hedger informational advantages are most pronounced. Agricultural producers hedging crops know more about supply conditions than distant speculators. Energy companies hedging production know more about operating costs than financial traders. Metals miners hedging output know more about ore grades than index funds. Financial futures markets show weaker but still present effects.
The journey from reading this documentation to profitable trading based on COT analysis involves several stages that cannot be rushed. Initial reading and basic understanding represents the first stage. Historical study represents the second stage, reviewing past market cycles to observe how positioning extremes preceded major turning points. Paper trading or small-size real trading represents the third stage to experience the psychological challenges. Refinement based on results and personal psychology represents the fourth stage.
Markets will continue evolving. New participant categories will emerge. Regulatory structures will change. Technology will advance. Yet the fundamental dynamics driving COT analysis, that different market participants have different information, different motivations, and different forecasting abilities that manifest in their positioning, will persist as long as futures markets exist. While specific thresholds or optimal parameters may shift over time, the core logic remains sound and adaptable.
The trader equipped with this indicator, understanding of the theory and evidence behind COT analysis, realistic expectations about probability rather than certainty, discipline to maintain positions through adverse volatility, and patience to allow signals time to develop possesses genuine edge in markets. The edge is not enormous, markets cannot allow large persistent inefficiencies without arbitraging them away, but it is real, measurable, and exploitable by those willing to invest in learning and disciplined application.
REFERENCES
Bessembinder, H. (1992) Systematic risk, hedging pressure, and risk premiums in futures markets, Review of Financial Studies, 5(4), pp. 637-667.
Bessembinder, H. and Chan, K. (1992) The profitability of technical trading rules in the Asian stock markets, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 3(2-3), pp. 257-284.
Briese, S. (2008) The Commitments of Traders Bible: How to Profit from Insider Market Intelligence. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Chang, E.C. (1985) Returns to speculators and the theory of normal backwardation, Journal of Finance, 40(1), pp. 193-208.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (2009) Explanatory Notes: Disaggregated Commitments of Traders Report. Available at: www.cftc.gov (Accessed: 15 January 2025).
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (2020) Commitments of Traders: About the Report. Available at: www.cftc.gov (Accessed: 15 January 2025).
Irwin, S.H. and Sanders, D.R. (2012) Testing the Masters Hypothesis in commodity futures markets, Energy Economics, 34(1), pp. 256-269.
Kaufman, P.J. (2013) Trading Systems and Methods. 5th edn. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Ruan, Y. and Zhang, Y. (2018) Forecasting commodity futures prices using machine learning: Evidence from the Chinese commodity futures market, Applied Economics Letters, 25(12), pp. 845-849.
Sanders, D.R., Boris, K. and Manfredo, M. (2004) Hedgers, funds, and small speculators in the energy futures markets: an analysis of the CFTC's Commitments of Traders reports, Energy Economics, 26(3), pp. 425-445.
Schwager, J.D. (2012) Market Sense and Nonsense: How the Markets Really Work and How They Don't. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Tharp, V.K. (2008) Super Trader: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wang, C. (2003) The behavior and performance of major types of futures traders, Journal of Futures Markets, 23(1), pp. 1-31.
Williams, L.R. and Noseworthy, M. (2009) The Right Stock at the Right Time: Prospering in the Coming Good Years. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
FURTHER READING
For traders seeking to deepen their understanding of COT analysis and futures market positioning beyond this documentation, the following resources provide valuable extensions:
Academic Journal Articles:
Fishe, R.P.H. and Smith, A. (2012) Do speculators drive commodity prices away from supply and demand fundamentals?, Journal of Commodity Markets, 1(1), pp. 1-16.
Haigh, M.S., Hranaiova, J. and Overdahl, J.A. (2007) Hedge funds, volatility, and liquidity provision in energy futures markets, Journal of Alternative Investments, 9(4), pp. 10-38.
Kocagil, A.E. (1997) Does futures speculation stabilize spot prices? Evidence from metals markets, Applied Financial Economics, 7(1), pp. 115-125.
Sanders, D.R. and Irwin, S.H. (2011) The impact of index funds in commodity futures markets: A systems approach, Journal of Alternative Investments, 14(1), pp. 40-49.
Books and Practitioner Resources:
Murphy, J.J. (1999) Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Guide to Trading Methods and Applications. New York: New York Institute of Finance.
Pring, M.J. (2002) Technical Analysis Explained: The Investor's Guide to Spotting Investment Trends and Turning Points. 4th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Federal Reserve and Research Institution Publications:
Federal Reserve Banks regularly publish working papers examining commodity markets, futures positioning, and price discovery mechanisms. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City maintain active research programs in this area.
Online Resources:
The CFTC website provides free access to current and historical COT reports, explanatory materials, and regulatory documentation.
Barchart offers enhanced COT data visualization and screening tools.
TradingView's community library contains numerous published scripts and educational materials exploring different approaches to positioning analysis.
