CT Futures Specs: Tick Value, Margin, Roll Dates & COT

01

Contract specifications

Exchange: ICE Futures U.S.
Underlying: Upland cotton (strict low middling, 1-2/32")
Contract unit: 50,000 pounds
Minimum tick: 0.01 cent per pound = $5.00 per contract
Point value: $500.00 per 1 cent per pound · 100 ticks per 1¢
Price quotation: U.S. cents per pound
Contract months: March, May, July, October, December (H, K, N, V, Z)
Settlement: Physical delivery
Final settlement: Delivery from exchange-licensed warehouses
Termination of trading: Seventeen business days from the end of the delivery month
Globex code: CT

Source: ICE Futures U.S. contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026

02

Roll dates, first notice & expiration

Contract	Roll date	First notice	Last trading day	Days left
CTV26 Oct 2026	Mon, Sep 21, 2026	Thu, Sep 24, 2026	Thu, Oct 8, 2026	9
CTZ26 Dec 2026 Active	Wed, Nov 18, 2026	Mon, Nov 23, 2026	Tue, Dec 8, 2026	70
CTH27 Mar 2027	Wed, Feb 17, 2027	Mon, Feb 22, 2027	Mon, Mar 8, 2027	160
CTK27 May 2027	Wed, Apr 21, 2027	Mon, Apr 26, 2027	Thu, May 6, 2027	219
CTN27 Jul 2027	Mon, Jun 21, 2027	Thu, Jun 24, 2027	Thu, Jul 8, 2027	282
CTV27 Oct 2027	Tue, Sep 21, 2027	Fri, Sep 24, 2027	Thu, Oct 7, 2027	373

Roll. The date shown is three business days before first notice, when speculators roll to the next active month.

First notice day. Five business days from the end of the month before the delivery month. Longs must exit before this date to avoid delivery.

Last trading day. Seventeen business days from the end of the delivery month.

US exchange holidays ahead: Nov 26 · Dec 25 · Jan 1 · Jan 18 · Feb 15 · Mar 26 · May 31 · Jun 18

Calculated from exchange rules and the US exchange holiday calendar. Confirm with the ICE Futures U.S. expiration calendar.

03

Trading hours (ET / CT)

Session	Eastern (ET)	Central (CT)	Your time
ICE trading hours	Sun–Fri 9:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.	Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.	–

Holiday hours differ – check the exchange holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).

04

Margins

ICE Futures U.S. maintenance margin per contract, outright position · as of Sep 30, 2026
Contract	Maintenance
CTZ26 Dec 2026 Active	$2,130
CTH27 Mar 2027	$1,985
CTK27 May 2027	$2,020
CTN27 Jul 2027	$1,925

Exchange margins are the minimum your clearing firm must collect for positions held overnight. Brokers may require more – and usually offer much lower day-trading margins for positions closed before the session ends. A neutral broker day-margin comparison is coming soon.

05

COT positioning

CFTC Disaggregated Report, futures only · positions as of Tue, Sep 22, 2026 · released Sep 25, 2026

Producers / Merchants

−154,611 net contracts

+11,792 vs. prior week · −40.3% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 29

COT Index 3 yr 11

Movement (6 wk): +11

Producers, merchants, processors and users hedging physical business – the classic commercials. They tend to buy weakness and sell strength.

Swap Dealers

+41,801 net contracts

+1,084 vs. prior week · +10.9% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 88

COT Index 3 yr 52

Movement (6 wk): +16

Swap dealers – banks hedging OTC swaps, including commodity index money. Often structurally positioned; read against their own range, not the sign.

Managed Money

+76,182 net contracts

−15,753 vs. prior week · +19.8% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 78

COT Index 3 yr 86

Movement (6 wk): +3

Managed money – CTAs, commodity pools and hedge funds. Trend followers; their positioning tends to peak near turning points.

Net positions, last 3 years contracts, long minus short

Producers / MerchantsSwap DealersManaged Money

COT Index, 3-year window 0 = most net short in 3 years, 100 = most net long · shaded: extreme zones

Producers / MerchantsManaged Money

Disaggregated Report · open interest 384,016 (+3,810 w/w)
Group	Long	Short	Net	Δ 1 wk	Δ 4 wk	Index 26 wk	Index 3 yr	Move 6 wk
Producers / Merchants	65,741	220,352	−154,611	+11,792	+15,549	29	11	+11
Swap Dealers	68,095	26,294	+41,801	+1,084	+5,089	88	52	+16
Managed Money	88,885	12,703	+76,182	−15,753	−12,111	78	86	+3
Other Reportables	49,413	22,567	+26,846	+2,008	−7,764	5	47	−15
Nonreportables	17,701	7,919	+9,782	+869	−763	45	72	−3

Legacy Report · open interest 384,016 (+3,810 w/w) · WILLCO (26 wk, commercials vs. OI): 37
Group	Long	Short	Net	Δ 1 wk	Δ 4 wk	Index 26 wk	Index 3 yr	Move 6 wk
Commercials	150,960	263,770	−112,810	+12,876	+20,638	35	14	+12
Non-Commercials	138,298	35,270	+103,028	−13,745	−19,875	66	86	−14
Nonreportables (small)	17,701	7,919	+9,782	+869	−763	45	72	−3

Weekly net positions, last 12 reports (Disaggregated Report)

Report date	Producers / Merchants	Swap Dealers	Managed Money	Other Reportables	Nonreportables	Open interest
Sep 22, 2026	−154,611	+41,801	+76,182	+26,846	+9,782	384,016
Sep 15, 2026	−166,403	+40,717	+91,935	+24,838	+8,913	380,206
Sep 8, 2026	−174,281	+41,027	+95,367	+27,384	+10,503	380,405
Sep 1, 2026	−178,611	+36,711	+100,963	+29,758	+11,179	383,730
Aug 25, 2026	−170,160	+36,712	+88,293	+34,610	+10,545	374,859
Aug 18, 2026	−159,389	+40,188	+72,672	+34,976	+11,553	361,871
Aug 11, 2026	−149,999	+36,473	+66,780	+36,475	+10,271	349,370
Aug 4, 2026	−140,793	+35,667	+55,321	+41,055	+8,750	331,500
Jul 28, 2026	−131,176	+30,809	+46,368	+47,163	+6,836	323,777
Jul 21, 2026	−132,301	+29,623	+47,059	+48,053	+7,566	317,825
Jul 14, 2026	−133,903	+28,625	+43,926	+51,521	+9,831	322,307
Jul 7, 2026	−126,462	+30,923	+34,354	+54,074	+7,111	318,052

How to read these numbers

Net position = long minus short contracts (spread positions excluded).
COT Index = where today's net position sits within its range over the window: 100 × (net − min) / (max − min). It is a stochastic, not a percentile. Readings above 80 or below 20 are commonly treated as positioning extremes (after Stephen Briese and Larry Williams).
Movement Index = change of the 3-year COT Index over 6 weeks. Moves of ±40 points mark unusually fast repositioning.
WILLCO (Legacy report) = COT Index of commercials' net position as a share of open interest, 26-week window.
Positions are as of Tuesday and released Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET. COT data shows positioning, not timing – it is context, not a trading signal. Open-interest-based indicators are left out for stock index futures because quarterly expirations distort open interest.

Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 033661 (COTTON NO. 2 - ICE FUTURES U.S.)

06

CT profit & loss calculator

Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.01.

07

FAQ

What is the tick value of cotton futures (CT)?

One tick is 0.01 cent per pound, worth $5.00 per contract. A 1-cent move is worth $500.

What does the COT Index show?

The COT Index places a group's current net position within its own range over a lookback window: 100 = the most net long in that window, 0 = the most net short. It measures positioning extremes, not timing.

Cotton No. 2 Futures (CT)

Producers / Merchants

Swap Dealers

Managed Money