Russell 2000: 37/100, leaning short. Small traders hold 31,470 long and 23,909 short contracts: 56.8% long. Week before: 38. A year before: 70. Three-year range: 11 to 100.

Crowded shortLeaning shortBalancedLeaning longCrowded long

050100

On 9 October 2026 small traders in CME/ICE E-mini Russell 2000 futures were 56.8% long, a Crowd Gauge reading of 37 out of 100 (leaning short), according to TradingLookup's Crowd Gauge (October 2026).

• Data as of 9 October 2026
• All markets
• Method

The CFTC report released that day, positions as of the Tuesday before.

The contract behind the reading

Contract

CME/ICE E-mini Russell 2000 futures

CFTC contract code

239742 790 weekly reports since 13 August 2002

Contract size

The unit of trade shall be $50.00 times the Index CME Group contract specs, read 14 October 2026

A long position is

a bet that the Russell 2000 index rises.

In the composite

No: its own reading only

Positioning, not price. "Small traders" are everyone below the CFTC's reporting size ("non-reportable"): the closest public measure of retail positioning in CME/ICE E-mini Russell 2000 futures. It also holds some small firms, so treat it as a proxy.

What today's reading means

Russell 2000 reads 37: small traders' long share is above about 37% of the last 156 weekly readings in this contract. The last crowded-long week (80+) was 20 February 2026. The last crowded-short week (20 or less) was 18 September 2026.

Record readings for Russell 2000

Highest Crowd Gauge reading

99.7 6 weeks, first on 13 November 2020, most recently 6 December 2024

Lowest Crowd Gauge reading

0.3 6 weeks, first on 14 September 2007, most recently 12 May 2023

Most long small traders have been

79.2% long positions as of 7 November 2006

Least long

12.1% long positions as of 19 February 2008

Readings from 6 January 2006 (621 weeks). Long share from 3 January 2006, in the CFTC contract above.

How often Russell 2000 hits an extreme

A new spell starts after 4 or more weeks outside the band, the same rule as the backtest's "episodes". Weeks are counted from the first published reading above.

History

Last 12 weekly readings

Change: points on the 0 to 100 scale against the week before. Positions are as of the Tuesday before each release.

Did extreme Russell 2000 readings come before price moves?

Not tested: no free daily price series we can use. The pooled result across the markets we could test is on the method page.

Sources for Russell 2000

• CFTC COT (small traders)In the reading (contract code 239742). 790 weekly reports since 13 August 2002.

• Stock market Crowd Fear & Greed
• S&P 500 77/100
• Nasdaq-100 55/100

Download every number: history CSV, COT observations CSV (CC BY 4.0). Spotted a mistake? Tell us.