New Hedger Highs in Platinum and Russell 2000

The report dated 2026-09-29 puts ten markets at a three-year positioning extreme: five at highs, five at lows. Four of them set fresh window records with this report, Lean Hogs and Class III Milk on the high side, the 2-Year U.S. T-Note and Sugar on the low; in the 2-Year the commercial book is still net long, but the least long it has been in three years. Last week’s third record, the 5-Year T-Note, stays on the list at the 2nd percentile. Three markets are new to it: Platinum and the E-mini Russell 2000 at highs, and the 2-Year T-Note at a low, back after a week off the list. Four left it since last week: Coffee, Copper, Cotton and Soybeans. None of the three programs that crossed their six-month midpoint below, Gold, the US Dollar Index and Ethereum, is among the ten.

Market	Side	Percentile	New
Lean Hogs	▲ HIGH	100th
Class III Milk	▲ HIGH	100th
2-Year U.S. T-Note	▼ LOW	1st	New
Sugar #11	▼ LOW	1st
Platinum	▲ HIGH	99th	New
5-Year U.S. T-Note	▼ LOW	2nd
British Pound	▲ HIGH	98th
Corn	▼ LOW	3rd
E-mini Nasdaq 100	▼ LOW	4th
E-mini Russell 2000	▲ HIGH	96th	New

Percentile is where this week’s net sits inside its own 3-year range. How the desk reads positioning: About the desk.

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Lean Hogs: commercials at a 3-year high, a fresh record

Producer/Merchant Net sits at the 100th percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials (the hedgers) have covered shorts toward the least-short end of the window; the book is still net short. That is a fresh record for the window. Net: -3,019 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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Class III Milk: commercials at a 3-year high, a fresh record

Producer/Merchant Net sits at the 100th percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have been heavy net buyers. That is a fresh record for the window. Net: +10,429 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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2-Year U.S. T-Note: commercials at a 3-year low, a fresh record

Commercial Net sits at the 1st percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have shed longs toward the least-long end of the window; the book is still net long. That is a fresh record for the window. Net: +752,017 contracts (as of 2026-09-29). New this week.

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Sugar #11: commercials at a 3-year low, a fresh record

Producer/Merchant Net sits at the 1st percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have been heavy net sellers. That is a fresh record for the window. Net: -345,358 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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Platinum: commercials at a 3-year high

Producer/Merchant Net sits at the 99th percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have covered shorts toward the least-short end of the window; the book is still net short. Net: -9,223 contracts (as of 2026-09-29). New this week.

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5-Year U.S. T-Note: commercials at a 3-year low

Commercial Net sits at the 2nd percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have shed longs toward the least-long end of the window; the book is still net long. Net: +954,888 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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British Pound: commercials at a 3-year high

Commercial Net sits at the 98th percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have been heavy net buyers. Net: +100,882 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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Corn: commercials at a 3-year low

Producer/Merchant Net sits at the 3rd percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have been heavy net sellers. Net: -732,985 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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E-mini Nasdaq 100: commercials at a 3-year low

Commercial Net sits at the 4th percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have been heavy net sellers. Net: -61,591 contracts (as of 2026-09-29).

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E-mini Russell 2000: commercials at a 3-year high

Commercial Net sits at the 96th percentile of its ~3-year range. The commercials have been heavy net buyers. Net: +70,212 contracts (as of 2026-09-29). New this week.

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The hedging program

Where each market’s tracked COT net sits inside its own trailing six-month range: above the midpoint of that range or below it. This is the same positioning read at close quarters, and it answers a different question from the extremes above: a book can sit at a three-year low and still have been working higher for six months. What follows is only what MOVED: the markets that crossed that midpoint with this week’s report.

21 programs read above the midpoint of their own trailing six-month range this week, 18 below. Three crossed it with this report: Gold from below to above, US Dollar Index from above to below and Ethereum from below to above.

Market	Turned	6-month program
Gold	from below the midpoint	▲ above midpoint
US Dollar Index	from above the midpoint	▼ below midpoint
Ethereum	from below the midpoint	▲ above midpoint

Gold: the program turns bullish

In the CFTC report of 2026-09-29, Producer/Merchant Net crossed the midpoint of its own trailing six-month range: it now sits above that midpoint, where the previous report still had it below. It cleared that midpoint by 2.7% of the window’s own range.

US Dollar Index: the program turns bearish

In the CFTC report of 2026-09-29, Commercial Net crossed the midpoint of its own trailing six-month range: it now sits below that midpoint, where the previous report still had it above. It cleared that midpoint by 3.4% of the window’s own range.

Ethereum: the program turns bullish

In the CFTC report of 2026-09-29, Leveraged Funds Net crossed the midpoint of its own trailing six-month range: it now sits above that midpoint, where the previous report still had it below. It cleared that midpoint by 3.0% of the window’s own range. The book tracked here is leveraged funds, a speculative cohort, not the hedger side.