The 43-day COT report delay led to a data vacuum, allowing "managed money" to build crowded, unseen positions. The eventual backfilled data caused a "positioning shock" in markets like soybeans, triggering sharp reversals. This event highlights the major risk of market opacity and the potential for a "volatility explosion" when speculative sentiment data is unavailable.
08-01-2026 13:18 GMT
by Moheb Hanna