CBOT · Interest Rates · Futures
30-Day Fed Funds futures (ZQ) price the market's expected average fed funds rate for each month – the main gauge of FOMC expectations.
Source: CME Group contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026
| Contract | Roll date | First notice | Last trading day | Days left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZQU26 Sep 2026 Active | – | n/a | Wed, Sep 30, 2026 | 1 |
| ZQV26 Oct 2026 | – | n/a | Fri, Oct 30, 2026 | 31 |
| ZQX26 Nov 2026 | – | n/a | Mon, Nov 30, 2026 | 62 |
| ZQZ26 Dec 2026 | – | n/a | Thu, Dec 31, 2026 | 93 |
| ZQF27 Jan 2027 | – | n/a | Fri, Jan 29, 2027 | 122 |
| ZQG27 Feb 2027 | – | n/a | Fri, Feb 26, 2027 | 150 |
Roll. No standard roll date – most activity sits in the nearest contract months.
First notice day. None – the contract is cash-settled, so there is no delivery and no first notice day.
Last trading day. Last business day of the contract month.
US exchange holidays ahead: Nov 26 · Dec 25 · Jan 1 · Jan 18 · Feb 15
Calculated from exchange rules and the US exchange holiday calendar. Confirm with the CME Group expiration calendar.
| Session | Eastern (ET) | Central (CT) | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Sun–Fri 5:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | – |
| Daily maintenance break | Mon–Thu 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Mon–Thu 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. | – |
| US session (reference) | Mon–Fri 8:20 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Mon–Fri 7:20 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | – |
| Daily settlement | 3:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | – |
Holiday hours differ – check the exchange holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).
| Contract | Maintenance |
|---|---|
| ZQU26 Sep 2026 Active | $225 |
| ZQV26 Oct 2026 | $515 |
| ZQX26 Nov 2026 | $615 |
| ZQZ26 Dec 2026 | $755 |
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.
−86,515 net contracts
+73,987 vs. prior week · −3.4% of OI
Movement (6 wk): −18
Banks and dealers on the other side of client flow. Tend to act contrarian – selling strength, buying weakness.
−72,229 net contracts
+685 vs. prior week · −2.9% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +8
Money-market and bond funds, pension funds and insurers positioning for the rate path.
+116,547 net contracts
−56,874 vs. prior week · +4.6% of OI
Movement (6 wk): +15
Hedge funds and CTAs betting on the path of Fed policy. Their positioning swings fast around FOMC meetings.
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dealers / Intermediaries | 477,427 | 563,942 | −86,515 | +73,987 | −203,726 | 20 | 36 | −18 |
| Asset Managers | 46,399 | 118,628 | −72,229 | +685 | +36,106 | 35 | 21 | +8 |
| Leveraged Funds | 563,857 | 447,310 | +116,547 | −56,874 | +222,573 | 85 | 71 | +15 |
| Other Reportables | 26,893 | 0 | +26,893 | −9,663 | −40,302 | 27 | 67 | −13 |
| Nonreportables | 75,398 | 60,094 | +15,304 | −8,135 | −14,651 | 16 | 43 | −44 |
| Group | Long | Short | Net | Δ 1 wk | Δ 4 wk | Index 26 wk | Index 3 yr | Move 6 wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercials | 1,556,341 | 1,569,600 | −13,259 | +30,654 | −324,566 | 7 | 43 | −30 |
| Non-Commercials | 396,021 | 398,066 | −2,045 | −22,519 | +339,217 | 93 | 56 | +31 |
| Nonreportables (small) | 75,398 | 60,094 | +15,304 | −8,135 | −14,651 | 16 | 43 | −44 |
| Report date | Dealers / Intermediaries | Asset Managers | Leveraged Funds | Other Reportables | Nonreportables | Open interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2026 | −86,515 | −72,229 | +116,547 | +26,893 | +15,304 | 2,518,412 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | −160,502 | −72,914 | +173,421 | +36,556 | +23,439 | 2,401,545 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | −21,038 | −47,822 | +1,543 | +54,300 | +13,017 | 2,136,373 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | +39,179 | −94,583 | −91,028 | +75,910 | +70,522 | 2,857,486 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | +117,211 | −108,335 | −106,026 | +67,195 | +29,955 | 2,764,513 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | +72,401 | −94,256 | −60,085 | +55,752 | +26,188 | 2,557,960 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | +43,980 | −97,074 | −17,451 | +49,222 | +21,323 | 2,387,555 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | +80,562 | −104,576 | −42,437 | +50,888 | +15,563 | 2,353,124 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | +202,287 | −47,032 | −263,963 | +83,170 | +25,538 | 2,688,322 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | +216,008 | +8,518 | −314,258 | +72,992 | +16,740 | 2,406,137 |
| Jul 14, 2026 | +209,323 | +41,961 | −333,379 | +66,721 | +15,374 | 2,276,254 |
| Jul 7, 2026 | +151,363 | +46,841 | −273,170 | +52,017 | +22,949 | 2,325,148 |
Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 045601 (FED FUNDS - CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE)
Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.005.
The standard tick is 0.005 (half a basis point), worth $20.835; the nearest expiring month trades in 0.0025 ticks worth $10.4175. One basis point is worth $41.67.
The price is 100 minus the expected rate: a price of 95.75 implies an average rate of 4.25% for that 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.