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Z11176 – PL COT Index Extreme Contrarian

Fills Q&A PM-POS-3 (Critical). Extreme positioning historically precedes mean reversion. 2015-2020 QE-taper era broke the pattern (positioning followed price rather than led reversal), so signal is SP

At a glance

IN-SEASON · ACTIVE

Current reading

+0.209

PL COT Index Extreme Contrarian composite, tanh-bounded

Signal state

Neutral

118 trading days in current state

Phase

NEUTRAL

Positive equals crowded short contrarian; negative equals crowded long contrarian

Sample

18 years

Live since 2008-08

 

As of Nov 04, 2026. Updated nightly.

SIGNAL OVERVIEW

Fills Q&A PM-POS-3 (Critical). Extreme positioning historically precedes mean reversion. 2015-2020 QE-taper era broke the pattern (positioning followed price rather than led reversal), so signal is SPECIALTY and regime-conditional. Multi-portfolio: same construction applies to SI/PL/PA (CFTC_DCOT_WEEKLY has all four). The composite is bounded between minus one and plus one through tanh. Across 18 years Phase +1 crowded short contrarian state has returned on average plus 2.73 percent forward 60-day platinum return. Phase -1 crowded long contrarian state has returned on average plus 0.29 percent. Today the composite reads +0.209, in Neutral territory.

LIVE CHART

PL COT Index Extreme Contrarian: composite bounded minus one to plus one.

The dark line in the top panel is the composite bounded between minus one and plus one. The pale red band marks crowded long contrarian regime. The pale green band marks crowded short contrarian regime. The bronze line in the middle panel is the trailing 252-day rolling Spearman information coefficient. The lower panel is NYMEX platinum continuous back-adjusted price on the right axis in cents per ounce.

Extreme crowded long contrarian band Extreme crowded short contrarian band

COMPOSITE

+0.209 / tanh

STATE

(nightly)

PHASE

(nightly)

FWD 60d

(nightly, baseline +0.70 percent)

SAMPLE N

4,591 days

TODAY’S PLAYBOOK READING

STATE

NEUTRAL

STATE AND HISTORY

Neutral. Sample N=4,591 days since 2008-08.

WHY THE SIGNAL IS HERE

Fills Q&A PM-POS-3 (Critical). Extreme positioning historically precedes mean reversion. 2015-2020 QE-taper era broke the pattern (positioning followed price rather than led reversal), so signal is SPECIALTY and regime-conditional. Multi-portfolio: same construction applies to SI

POSTURE FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD

The signal is a regime detector on a 60-day forward horizon. Pair with price momentum signals for conviction.

WHAT THE CHART SHOWS

Today the composite reads +0.209 placing the dot inside the Neutral band.

TOP INPUTS FIRING

  • Silver returns Primary silver price momentum.
  • 10-year TIPS-implied inflation breakeven Market-implied inflation expectation.
  • Rolling coherence trend 5-year first-difference of coherence at 170-day cycles.

THE REGIME MAP

The three regime phases, forward 60-day platinum returns and sample share

Baseline platinum forward 60 day return (unconditional): mean plus 0.70 percent, median plus 0.03 percent, across 4,531 trading days.

State Phase Share Fwd 60d HAC t Edge vs baseline Last firings
Crowded short contrarian +1 24.1% (1107 d) +2.16% +1.46pp Apr 2025, Dec 2024, Sep 2024
Normal TODAY 0 51.7% (2375 d) +0.71% +0.01pp May 2026, Apr 2026, Dec 2025
Crowded long contrarian -1 24.2% (1109 d) -0.76% -1.47pp May 2026, Apr 2026, Dec 2025

The historical pattern

How to use the signal today

Crowded short contrarian
2012-05
Composite series maximum
On 2012-05-23 the composite reached its series maximum plus 0.964. Platinum subsequent 60-day behavior aligned with the crowded short contrarian regime pattern.
Composite +0.964 on 2012-05-23
Crowded long contrarian
2009-08
Composite series minimum
On 2009-08-05 the composite reached its series minimum minus 0.964. Platinum subsequent 60-day behavior aligned with the crowded long contrarian regime pattern.
Composite -0.964 on 2009-08-05
Normal
2020-03
COVID shock regime
The March 2020 COVID liquidity shock drove violent regime shifts across platinum drivers.
Multi-phase regime across COVID window

THE TRACK RECORD

State changes

State Start End Duration Fwd 60d SPY
Normal 10/28/2024 11/05/2024 7d +3.19%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 11/06/2024 11/06/2024 1d +2.23%
Normal 11/07/2024 11/07/2024 1d +1.80%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 11/08/2024 11/11/2024 2d +0.43%
Normal 11/12/2024 11/20/2024 7d +1.41%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 11/21/2024 12/02/2024 7d +1.06%
Normal 12/03/2024 12/11/2024 7d -4.48%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 12/12/2024 09/24/2025 196d -8.76%
Normal 09/25/2025 10/09/2025 11d +3.24%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 10/10/2025 10/10/2025 1d +5.60%
Normal 10/13/2025 10/17/2025 5d +3.99%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 10/20/2025 10/27/2025 6d +3.12%
Normal 10/28/2025 11/11/2025 11d +0.83%
Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) 11/12/2025 11/13/2025 2d +1.28%
Normal 11/14/2025 11/17/2025 2d +1.39%
Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) 11/18/2025 11/20/2025 3d +3.45%
Normal 11/21/2025 11/25/2025 3d +4.61%
Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) 11/26/2025 10/26/2026 229d +1.98%

Scroll inside the table for the full history. Forward 60-day SPY is measured from each run’s start date; a reader cannot trade off a start-date they only identify in hindsight, so this is a transparency log, not an alpha claim. Asterisked (*) returns are partial. The run is less than 60 trading days old. The full 60-day comparable fills in as more data arrives.

What this measures

Fills Q&A PM-POS-3 (Critical). Extreme positioning historically precedes mean reversion. 2015-2020 QE-taper era broke the pattern (positioning followed price rather than led reversal), so signal is SPECIALTY and regime-conditional. Multi-portfolio: same construction applies to SI/PL/PA (CFTC_DCOT_WEEKLY has all four). The composite is z-scored against a trailing baseline and bounded through tanh.

Why it matters

Fills Q&A PM-POS-3 (Critical). Extreme positioning historically precedes mean reversion. 2015-2020 QE-taper era broke the pattern (positioning followed price rather than led reversal), so signal is SPECIALTY and regime-conditional. Multi-portfolio: same construction applies to SI/PL/PA (CFTC_DCOT_WEEKLY has all four).

The signal flags the current platinum regime for the next 60 trading days on average. Pair with price-based signals for precise entry.

State-conditional spreads are empirical averages across 18 years. Individual regime windows can run longer or shorter than mean sample.

GO DEEPER

Want the full depth?

Brief covers wavelet-coherence methodology, three signature episodes (2009-02 QE recoupling series max, 2015-06 decoupling series min, 2020 COVID), and four caveats on reading a cross-asset coherence signal.

Signal consumers and siblings

Not investment advice · The analysis on this page is informational and educational. Signal readings, historical case figures, and empirical statistics are derived from publicly available data and are provided without warranty. Hypothetical performance results have inherent limitations, including the benefit of hindsight. Readers who intend to trade should consult a licensed investment professional and see the research brief for the full disclaimer.

Last refreshed Nov 06, 2026 05:25 PM ET