WatchTower

Free data · updated 22 September 2026

Where the crowd is most one-sided right now.

Speculative positioning and retail crowding across FX, gold, metals and indices. Each market is measured against its own 52 week range, so an extreme here is comparable to an extreme anywhere else on the board.

This describes where positioning sits in its own recent history. It is not a price forecast and it is not advice.

Speculators are at their most net long on Copper in two years

Speculative positioning at a range extreme is one of the oldest contrarian tells in markets. This describes where positioning sits in its own recent history, not where price is headed.

Retail crowding

Where the retail book is most lopsided, as of 1 October 2026. Read contrarian.

  • NZD/CHF 87% long 87% long
  • NZD/CAD 80% long 80% long
  • AUD/NZD 23% long 77% short
  • NZD/USD 76% long 76% long
  • CAD/CHF 75% long 75% long
  • USD/CHF 72% long 72% long
  • EUR/NZD 29% long 71% short
  • AUD/CHF 69% long 69% long
  • NZD/JPY 69% long 69% long
  • GBP/CHF 68% long 68% long
  • EUR/CHF 64% long 64% long
  • EUR/AUD 64% long 64% long
  • GBP/USD 63% long 63% long
  • GBP/AUD 62% long 62% long
  • GBP/NZD 38% long 62% short
  • CHF/JPY 38% long 62% short
  • EUR/USD 60% long 60% long
  • USD/JPY 40% long 60% short
  • EUR/CAD 40% long 60% short
  • CAD/JPY 60% long 60% long
  • AUD/USD 58% long 58% long
  • USD/CAD 43% long 57% short
  • GBP/JPY 57% long 57% long
  • EUR/JPY 44% long 56% short
  • EUR/GBP 53% long 53% long
  • AUD/JPY 47% long 53% short
  • AUD/CAD 47% long 53% short
  • GBP/CAD 50% long 50% long

One market

What this book has actually been doing.

Copper

Metals · net speculative position, weekly

As of 22 September 2026
Net position +82,522 net long
Three year percentile 100th at an extreme
Change, 4 weeks +6,251 +17,416 last week
Twelve month range +35,284 to +82,522 last more extreme 2y+ ago
Week Net position Change
22 Sept 2026 +82,522 +17,416
15 Sept 2026 +65,106 -17,048
8 Sept 2026 +82,154 +9,272
1 Sept 2026 +72,882 -3,389
25 Aug 2026 +76,271 -2,377
18 Aug 2026 +78,648 -379
11 Aug 2026 +79,027 +3,269
4 Aug 2026 +75,758 +10,750
28 Jul 2026 +65,008 -6,507
21 Jul 2026 +71,515 +11,330
14 Jul 2026 +60,185 +1,401
7 Jul 2026 +58,784 —

Non-commercial net position in contracts, published weekly by the CFTC with a three day lag, so the newest row describes the previous Tuesday. The percentile is measured over three years; the range and the weekly changes are over the last twelve months. Full page for Copper

Speculative positioning, every market

Net speculative position against its own three year range, as of 22 September 2026. 80th percentile and above reads crowded long, 20th and below crowded short. The line is the last year of net positioning, scaled to each market's own range.

Market Last 12 months Reading Percentile Net position
CopperHG Most net-long in 2y+ 100th +82,522
Australian DollarAUD Most net-long in 0w 90th +58,726
Mexican PesoMXN Most net-long in 0w 90th +79,188
Dow JonesDJIA Most net-long in 10mo 85th +14,217
SilverXAG Most net-short in 0w 19th +13,309
Japanese YenJPY Most net-long in 0w 80th +7,423
British PoundGBP Net long 22nd +13,239
Swiss FrancCHF Net short 24th -16,457
Canadian DollarCAD Net short 72nd -46,861
GoldXAU Net long 30th +127,389
EuroEUR Net short 32nd -26,694
Nasdaq 100NDX Net long 66th +72,220
Nikkei 225NI225 Net long 66th +6,524
New Zealand DollarNZD Net short 63rd -4,787
S&P 500SPX Net long 42nd +934,455
PlatinumXPT Net long 56th +9,928
US DollarUSD Net short 52nd -4,495
PalladiumXPD Net short 52nd -6,006
WTI CrudeWTI Net long 48th +101,828

19 markets. Speculative positioning is published weekly by the CFTC and is reported with a three day lag, so the newest reading describes last Tuesday.

A crowded market is not a timing signal.

Positioning can sit at an extreme for months. What it tells you is how much of the move is already owned, which changes the risk on a trade rather than the direction of it.

Inside the terminal, retail crowding is folded into the composite score as a contrarian input carrying 10%, and positioning carries a further 18% split across level and weekly flow.

  • Measured againstIts own 52 week range
  • Crowded long80th percentile and above
  • Crowded short20th percentile and below
  • Retail is readContrarian
  • UpdatedWeekly, with the print

Every market, weekly. The terminal has the three year history behind each one.

Long and short split, net position, weekly change and the 52 week percentile on every tracked market, with the history behind each one. 2 boards free, no card.