Swiss franc (CHF/USD): are retail traders long or short?
Swiss franc (CHF/USD): 20/100, leaning short. Small traders hold 10,391 long and 23,937 short contracts: 30.3% long. Week before: 9. A year before: 63. Three-year range: 0 to 98.
On 9 October 2026 small traders in CME Swiss franc futures were 30.3% long, a Crowd Gauge reading of 20 out of 100 (leaning short), according to TradingLookup's Crowd Gauge (October 2026).
- Data as of
- All markets
- Method
The contract behind the reading
- Contract
- CME Swiss franc futures
- CFTC contract code
- 092741
- A long position is
- a bet that the Swiss franc rises against the US dollar. The contract is priced in US dollars per CHF, so it moves with CHF/USD and against the more common USD/CHF quote.
- 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 Swiss franc futures. It also holds some small firms, so treat it as a proxy.
What today's reading means
Swiss franc (CHF/USD) reads 20: small traders' long share is above about 20% of the last 156 weekly readings in this contract. The last crowded-long week (80+) was 27 February 2026. The last crowded-short week (20 or less) was 2 October 2026.
Record readings for Swiss franc (CHF/USD)
- Highest Crowd Gauge reading
- 99.7
- Lowest Crowd Gauge reading
- 0.3
- Most long small traders have been
- 78.2% long
- Least long
- 15.5% long
How often Swiss franc (CHF/USD) hits an extreme
| Band | Weeks | Share of weeks | Separate spells | Longest spell | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crowded long (80+) | 206 | 19% | 22 | 36 weeks, to 29 January 2021 | 27 February 2026 |
| Crowded short (20 or less) | 212 | 20% | 31 | 18 weeks, to 28 November 2014 | 2 October 2026 |
History
Last 12 weekly readings
| Released | Reading | Band | Change | Long | Short | Long share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.2 | Leaning short | +12 | 10,391 | 23,937 | 30.3% | |
| 8.7 | Crowded short | +3 | 9,312 | 24,835 | 27.3% | |
| 6.1 | Crowded short | −60 | 9,478 | 25,842 | 26.8% | |
| 65.7 | Leaning long | +26 | 50,594 | 66,080 | 43.4% | |
| 40.1 | Balanced | +14 | 12,822 | 24,341 | 34.5% | |
| 26.0 | Leaning short | −8 | 11,135 | 24,347 | 31.4% | |
| 33.7 | Leaning short | −3 | 10,682 | 21,249 | 33.5% | |
| 36.2 | Leaning short | +4 | 12,507 | 24,203 | 34.1% | |
| 31.7 | Leaning short | +10 | 11,565 | 23,516 | 33.0% | |
| 22.1 | Leaning short | −1 | 10,584 | 23,736 | 30.8% | |
| 22.8 | Leaning short | +5 | 11,406 | 25,520 | 30.9% | |
| 17.6 | Crowded short | −1 | 10,383 | 24,410 | 29.8% |
Did extreme Swiss franc (CHF/USD) readings come before price moves?
| Period, horizon | After 80 or more | After 20 or less | All weeks | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 on, 1 week | -0.04% | 0.13% | 0.04% | 456 |
| 2018 on, 4 weeks | -0.03% | 0.57% | 0.16% | 453 |
| 2018 on, 12 weeks | -0.39% | 2.32% | 0.43% | 445 |
| 2006–2017, 1 week | 0.12% | 0.17% | 0.03% | 626 |
| 2006–2017, 4 weeks | 0.64% | 0.58% | 0.20% | 626 |
| 2006–2017, 12 weeks | 1.97% | 1.58% | 0.65% | 626 |
From 2018, the 4 weeks after a crowded-long Swiss franc (CHF/USD) reading averaged -0.03%, against 0.16% for all weeks; after a crowded-short reading, 0.57%. Separate crowded-long episodes in that period: 7; crowded-short: 13.
History, not a forecast. Small samples swing a lot, and one market proves little. The pooled result across markets is on the method page.
Sources for Swiss franc (CHF/USD)
- CFTC COT (small traders)In the reading (contract code 092741). 1936 weekly reports since 15 January 1986.
- Forex sentiment: every currency
- Euro (EUR/USD) 30/100
- Japanese yen (JPY/USD) 32/100
- British pound (GBP/USD) 4/100
- Canadian dollar (CAD/USD) 11/100
- Australian dollar (AUD/USD) 69/100
- New Zealand dollar (NZD/USD) 35/100
- Mexican peso (MXN/USD) 32/100
- US dollar index 95/100