The latest CFTC COT report reveals important positioning shifts across equity futures, gold, silver, crude oil, Bitcoin, Ether and the U.S. dollar. Here is what changed during the week of August 18, 2026, and where positioning has become historically crowded.
Treasury’s intervention was never large enough to permanently reverse long-term yields. The bigger question is whether Bessent and the Fed are setting up a Yellen-style liquidity regime through bond buybacks, shorter-term issuance and reserve management.
The August 14 CFTC COT report shows sharp leveraged-fund short covering in the S&P 500 but weaker Nasdaq and Russell 2000 positioning. Gold attracted new managed-money longs but remains crowded, while VIX, crude oil, crypto and DXY produced more divided signals.
The latest CPI report was broadly dovish, although core inflation was firmer than my estimate. Crowded bond shorts, falling Treasury yields and bullish options positioning could now support another move higher in SPY, QQQ and SOXX.
SmartFlow founder Ivailo Chaushev joined Bloomberg TV to discuss SpaceX’s strong earnings, its $18 billion spending programme, Starlink growth and the post-IPO risks facing SPCX.
The latest CFTC COT report shows increasingly defensive positioning in Nasdaq and Russell 2000 futures alongside a sharp rise in leveraged-fund VIX exposure. Gold remains constructive but crowded, while crypto and DXY show a more mixed positioning picture.