Agriculture · Market page

Live Cattle

Short exposure sits in the 32nd percentile. The lead participant net position changed −21K contracts over the latest week.

Positions as of21 Jul 2026Released 25 Jul 2026
ConditionCrowded shortChanged this release
3Y historical percentile32nd−2.56σ from the rolling mean
Net / open interest17.0%Lead participant exposure
1-week flow−21K4-week flow −50.7K
Positioning historyLive Cattle exposure is measured against its own history.Lead participant rolling z-score
2026-07-21-2.56σ
-2σ0σ+2σ
2023-08-01Source: U.S. CFTC2026-07-21
ParticipantNet contractsRelative size
Managed money+75.4K
Non-reportables−13.2K
Other reportables+3.5K
Producers / merchants−127.6K
Swap dealers+61.9K

CFTC participant categories vary by report family. The primary positioning series uses managed money for physical commodities and leveraged funds for financial futures.

Curve contextThe futures curve is indexed to the front contract.backwardation · Front contract = 100
100.097.394.5
Aug 2026Normalized term structureFeb 2028
Positioning bucketN4W positive8W positive12W positiveAvg 12W
z ≥ 2.0 (extreme long)5637.5%25.0%23.2%+2.11%
1.5 ≤ z < 2.06743.3%41.8%39.4%+0.58%
1.0 ≤ z < 1.56342.9%38.1%27.0%+2.17%
neutral (−1.0 < z < 1.0)41147.0%48.6%43.8%+1.43%
−1.5 < z ≤ −1.08355.4%61.4%61.4%+1.24%
−2.0 < z ≤ −1.57162.0%63.4%64.8%+2.90%
z ≤ −2.0 (extreme short)5853.4%56.9%56.9%+0.95%

Overlapping historical observations. Periods and sample sizes are shown so the comparison can be read in context.