Getting Data

In order to plot the COT indicator you must first enable COT data to be download.

To do this, within the Control Center go to Tools> Options> Market Data then check Download COT data at start up and restart NinjaTrader.

If this option is not enabled and you attempt to apply the COT indicator to a chart, a message will display on the chart saying "Download COT data at startup" must be enabled in Options to receive the latest data.

Display
The COT indicator is able to display 1-5 plots at a time from a single instance of the indicator for many U.S. futures instruments. By default it loads 4 plots with some of the most frequently used report fields.

The Open Interest plot typically has a value much larger than the others and it may be preferable to plot Open Interest on it's own.

To do this, within the indicator properties change the Number of COT plots to 1 and change COT 1 to the Open interest Field. Adjust plot colors and values as desired.

Next add another COT indicator and set Number of COT plots to 3.

Now you will have a chart with Open Interest on its own panel and the net position report fields on their own panel to increase visibility.

Using the COT

COT data is often times used to compare what market participants are long vs short. This information can then be used to help determine a position per your own trading method.

Here we can see that the red  Futures - Commercial net plot is 558k short, indicated by the negative value, where as the blue Futures - Non-commercial net plot is 541k long.

Another common use is to see when a market participant reverses their position or when market participants plots cross, potentially indicating a change in market direction. Here we can see as the red commercials moved to long and crossed the blue non-commercials the price started to move in a bullish direction.

For information on how to access the COT values in NinjaScript, please see the Commitment Of Traders (COT) page in the NinjaScript section of the Help Guide.