The Commitment of Traders (COT) report helps analyze trends in the fluctuating positions of different classes of traders in futures markets. As such, it is a valuable tool in gauging market sentiment and near-term market direction. A top-level analysis of COT oil futures data, based on those who trade for industrial purposes (i.e., commercial sellers and buyers of oil), suggests a near-term neutral-to-bearish outlook for oil prices, as commercial sellers are hedging more than commercial buyers.