CBOT · Agriculture · Futures
CBOT Oats (ZO): 5,000 bushels, quoted in cents per bushel, physically delivered.
Source: CME Group contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026
| Contract | Roll date | First notice | Last trading day | Days left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZOZ26 Dec 2026 Active | Tue, Nov 24, 2026 | Mon, Nov 30, 2026 | Mon, Dec 14, 2026 | 76 |
| ZOH27 Mar 2027 | Tue, Feb 23, 2027 | Fri, Feb 26, 2027 | Fri, Mar 12, 2027 | 164 |
| ZOK27 May 2027 | Tue, Apr 27, 2027 | Fri, Apr 30, 2027 | Fri, May 14, 2027 | 227 |
| ZON27 Jul 2027 | Fri, Jun 25, 2027 | Wed, Jun 30, 2027 | Wed, Jul 14, 2027 | 288 |
| ZOU27 Sep 2027 | Thu, Aug 26, 2027 | Tue, Aug 31, 2027 | Tue, Sep 14, 2027 | 350 |
| ZOZ27 Dec 2027 | Wed, Nov 24, 2027 | Tue, Nov 30, 2027 | Tue, Dec 14, 2027 | 441 |
Roll. The date shown is three business days before first notice, when speculators roll to the next active month.
First notice day. Last business day of the month before the contract month. Longs can be assigned delivery from here on – brokers usually require longs to be closed or rolled before this date.
Last trading day. Business day before the 15th calendar day of the contract 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 CME Group expiration calendar.
| Session | Eastern (ET) | Central (CT) | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight session (Globex) | Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m. | Sun–Fri 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. | – |
| Day session (Globex) | Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. | Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. | – |
| Daily settlement | 2:15 p.m. | 1:15 p.m. | – |
Holiday hours differ – check the CME holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).
| Contract | Maintenance |
|---|---|
| Dec 2026 – Mar 2027 Active | $1,250 |
| May 2027 – Sep 2029 | $1,100 |
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.
Older data: the latest available CFTC report is more than two weeks old. The CFTC skips markets in weeks with too few large traders, and releases can be delayed by holidays or government closures.
−1,154 net contracts
+636 vs. prior week · −36.8% of OI
Movement (6 wk): −31
Producers, merchants, processors and users hedging physical business – the classic commercials. They tend to buy weakness and sell strength.
±0 net contracts
−111 vs. prior week · ±0.0% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +15
Swap dealers – banks hedging OTC swaps, including commodity index money. Often structurally positioned; read against their own range, not the sign.
+118 net contracts
−477 vs. prior week · +3.8% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +47 ±40 surge
Managed money – CTAs, commodity pools and hedge funds. Trend followers; their positioning tends to peak near turning points.
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producers / Merchants | 389 | 1,543 | −1,154 | +636 | −1,100 | 45 | 47 | −31 |
| Swap Dealers | 0 | 0 | ±0 | −111 | ±0 | 50 | 63 | +15 |
| Managed Money | 339 | 221 | +118 | −477 | +1,367 | 78 | 66 | +47 |
| Other Reportables | 398 | 421 | −23 | −338 | −1,110 | 0 | 0 | −62 |
| Nonreportables | 1,815 | 756 | +1,059 | +290 | +843 | 88 | 77 | +33 |
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercials | 389 | 1,543 | −1,154 | +525 | −1,100 | 44 | 49 | −32 |
| Non-Commercials | 737 | 642 | +95 | −815 | +257 | 33 | 49 | +13 |
| Nonreportables (small) | 1,815 | 756 | +1,059 | +290 | +843 | 88 | 77 | +33 |
| Report date | Producers / Merchants | Swap Dealers | Managed Money | Other Reportables | Nonreportables | Open interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | −1,154 | ±0 | +118 | −23 | +1,059 | 3,132 |
| Jun 2, 2026 | −1,790 | +111 | +595 | +315 | +769 | 4,630 |
| May 26, 2026 | −2,147 | +126 | +701 | +385 | +935 | 4,735 |
| May 19, 2026 | −2,216 | +124 | +664 | +370 | +1,058 | 4,473 |
| Feb 3, 2026 | −54 | ±0 | −1,249 | +1,087 | +216 | 4,120 |
| Jan 27, 2026 | ±0 | −119 | −1,354 | +1,054 | +419 | 4,172 |
| Jan 20, 2026 | +93 | −117 | −1,317 | +1,066 | +275 | 4,063 |
| Jan 13, 2026 | −230 | −126 | −1,141 | +1,195 | +302 | 4,124 |
| Dec 23, 2025 | +170 | −124 | −1,694 | +1,096 | +552 | 4,481 |
| Dec 16, 2025 | −4 | −128 | −1,726 | +1,078 | +780 | 4,612 |
| Dec 9, 2025 | −225 | −117 | −1,281 | +1,001 | +622 | 4,079 |
| Dec 2, 2025 | −144 | −110 | −1,208 | +980 | +482 | 4,006 |
Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 004603 (OATS - CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE)
Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.25.
One tick is 1/4 cent per bushel, worth $12.50 per contract. A 1-cent move is worth $50.
The last business day of the month before the contract month.
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.