This tool visualizes public macro data such as COT, rates, real yields and EIA data. It does not calculate lot size, margin, trade cost, spread, swap, position sizing, trade P/L, or provide investment advice.
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This tool mechanically displays public and user-provided local data. It does not recommend, advise, solicit, or guarantee any trade, investment, entry, exit, holding, or price movement.
Macro Research Workbench Guide
Move from checking public macro data to maintaining a research process
Macro Research Workbench is a browser-based research tool for viewing public CFTC COT positioning, U.S. Treasury nominal and real yields, yield-curve and rate-differential views, and EIA energy statistics in one workspace. Free lets you check the core public datasets without signing up; Core adds recurring monitoring, local saving and export; Global adds formulas, historical-regime and point-in-time research, reporting and data expansion.
- Start free, without signing upCore public macro datasets are available on the public workbench.
- Local-first workflowYour CSV, formulas, notes and settings are generally processed and stored in your browser.
- Descriptive visualizationThis is not a trading-signal, price-forecast, investment-advice or broker-execution service.
About Macro Research Workbench
The workbench organizes public macroeconomic and positioning data, together with time series you load locally, into tables, charts, heatmaps and comparison measures. You can review levels, changes, positions within historical distributions and relationships across series, then save, annotate, export or report on that work when your plan supports it.
The workbench descriptively organizes historical and already-published data. It is not a real-time price terminal, economic calendar, news feed, AI trading system, lot-size calculator, margin calculator or trade-cost calculator.
Macro data available
The bundled data are static snapshots derived from public sources including the CFTC, U.S. Treasury and EIA. Available history, displays and research functions vary by plan.
| Data domain | Main markets and series | What you can inspect |
|---|---|---|
| CFTC COT | Major FX, gold and silver, oil and natural gas, equity indices and U.S. Treasury futures | Long, Short, Spreading, Open Interest, net position, period percentiles, changes and heatmaps |
| U.S. Treasury yields | Nominal Treasury yields from short to long maturities | Yield levels, maturity comparisons, the yield curve and curve spreads such as 2s10s |
| Real yields | U.S. TIPS real yields and related series | Nominal-versus-real context, breakeven context and Gold × Real Yield templates |
| Rate differentials | Cross-country or cross-currency yields such as USD/JPY, plus maturity spreads | Basic templates, the Core Rate Differential Builder, and Global rates and FX-differential views |
| EIA energy statistics | Crude and product inventories, production, imports, exports, refinery inputs and utilization, and natural-gas storage | Inventory levels and weekly changes, four-week averages, supply-and-demand components and Oil × EIA templates |
| User-added data | Local CSV, CSV URL, JSON API, XML and supported SDMX-JSON | Global Data Bank registration, joining, missing-data completion, formulas, point-in-time research and reporting |
Markets and intended users
Markets and themes
- Major currency futures and FX rate differentials
- Metals including gold and silver
- Energy including crude oil and natural gas
- Major equity-index futures
- U.S. Treasury futures, nominal yields and real yields
- Country macro, central-bank and liquidity data connected in Global
Intended users
- Traders and investors who regularly review COT, rates, real yields and EIA data
- Researchers and analysts comparing public datasets across markets
- Individuals, teams and organizations that need recurring monitoring, saved work and reports
- Users who want to combine public and proprietary data on their own device
Not designed for
- Real-time order routing, execution or broker connectivity
- Buy/sell signals, target prices or position recommendations
- Advice tailored to an individual investment objective or risk tolerance
- A guaranteed-complete, institutional real-time market-data terminal
How to read the indicators
Do not treat any single measure as a conclusion. Align the source, unit, observation date, comparison window, missing-data treatment and revision status. Read both where a value sits in its historical context and what the measure does not mean.
- COT positioning
- Aggregated futures positions by participant category. It does not reveal an individual trader’s intent or the next price direction.
- Net position
- Long minus Short. A positive value is net long and a negative value is net short, but neither is a trade instruction.
- Open Interest
- The total number of outstanding contracts. It gives context on participation and position size, not market direction.
- Percentile
- The current observation’s relative rank within a selected window. A 90th percentile does not mean a 90% probability of reversal.
- Z-score
- The number of standard deviations between the current value and the window mean. It depends on window length, sample size, outliers and distribution shape.
- Yield curve and rate differentials
- Differences across maturities or countries. 2s10s commonly means 10-year minus 2-year. Fix the sign, maturities and date; inversion alone cannot time a recession.
- Real yield and breakeven
- Real yields provide an inflation-adjusted yield context. A breakeven is an approximation from nominal minus real yields of the same maturity, not a guaranteed inflation forecast.
- EIA inventories
- Read levels and changes alongside production, imports, exports, refinery inputs, utilization, seasonality and four-week averages. One week is not a price signal.
- Correlation and lead/lag
- They describe past co-movement or time shifts. Correlation does not establish causality, and a past lead does not guarantee a future lead.
- Point-in-Time
- Reconstructs the data available as of a historical date. It helps avoid look-ahead bias from using later revisions in an earlier analysis.
Data sources
The principal primary sources for bundled data are listed below. In each module, check the source name, as-of date and retrieval timestamp for the series currently displayed. Each provider’s terms and licensing conditions apply.
| Provider | Covered data | Official page |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) | Commitments of Traders (COT) | CFTC COT Reports |
| U.S. Department of the Treasury | Nominal and real U.S. Treasury yields | Interest Rate Statistics |
| U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) | Petroleum inventories, production, trade and refinery statistics, plus natural-gas data | Petroleum & Other Liquids Data / Natural Gas Data |
| Sources connected by a Global user | FRED, World Bank, OECD, IMF, BIS and central banks within the supported scope, plus data licensed or held by the user | FRED / World Bank / OECD / IMF / BIS |
Global does not include a paid market-data feed or real-time market data by default. It lets you connect sources you provide, subject to availability, API specifications, access limits, licensing and browser CORS restrictions.
Update frequency and as-of dates
A page-update time is not the same as the date represented by the data. Check the module’s as-of date, last successful retrieval, data version and warning state, then compare them with the provider’s release schedule.
| Data | Observation or reference date | Normal release frequency | Reading note |
|---|---|---|---|
| COT | Normally positions as of Tuesday | Weekly, usually Friday at 3:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time | The observation and release dates differ. U.S. holidays may delay release by one or two days. |
| U.S. nominal and real Treasury yields | Each business day’s observation | Daily on business days | Market holidays, retrieval timing, provider revisions and methodology changes can affect timing or values. |
| EIA weekly petroleum statistics | Normally the week ending the previous Friday | Usually Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time | Holiday weeks change the schedule. Weekly estimates may differ from later monthly final or revised data. |
| EIA natural-gas storage | Weekly storage observation | Usually Thursday at 10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time | Holiday changes apply. Keep the reference week separate from the publication date. |
| User-connected data | Defined by the source or file | Depends on the provider or user update | Where possible, maintain separate observation, release, retrieval, revision and vintage dates. |
Waiting for data
An explanatory or training sample, not the latest official observation.
Not configured
The source, series, file, condition or another required setting has not been completed.
Warning
Some data may be stale, missing, unavailable, or lack complete provenance.
How to use the workbench
- Choose a board. Open COT, Heatmap, Rate Differentials, Real Yields, EIA or another topic you want to review.
- Align the market, series and window. Select the market, participant category, maturity, comparison window and unit.
- Check the source and dates first. Review the as-of date, last retrieval, data version, and any waiting, unconfigured or warning state.
- Separate levels from relative measures. Do not treat absolute values, weekly changes, Open Interest shares, percentiles and z-scores as interchangeable.
- Add context from another series. Compare rates with the curve, real yields with nominal yields, and inventories with production and refinery utilization.
- Keep the work when needed. Use Core for watchlists, saving, annotation and export; use Global for formulas, regimes, point-in-time work, CSV joining and reports.
- Record the conclusion and its limits. Keep the source, as-of date, transform, window, missing-data treatment and unresolved caveats with the result.
If you are new to macro data, start in Free with “COT → U.S. nominal and real yields → EIA,” and repeat the same source, window and checklist on each review.
Free vs Core vs Global
The difference is not only how much data you can see. It is whether you can save and reuse the work, validate data on a consistent historical timeline, connect your own sources and retain a reportable research trail. The summary below was reviewed on July 15, 2026. Check the pricing page for the latest prices and entitlements.
| Item | Free | Core (Pro tier) | Global (Premium tier) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Check key public macro data | Monitor, save, compare and export | Research, validate by vintage, report and expand data |
| COT | Major markets, 52-week and 3-year percentiles, basic heatmap; some z-score views may be limited | Full history, 5-year, 10-year and all-period views, z-score, 1/4/13/26-week changes, multi-market heatmap | Everything in Core plus cross-asset positioning research |
| Rates and EIA | Basic views and templates | Rate Differential Builder, EIA Energy Board and expanded comparisons | Global Rates Matrix, Country Macro Cards, central-bank and liquidity views, and regime research |
| Saving and export | View sharing and limited export | Watchlist; saved dashboards, layouts and annotations; PDF / CSV / JSON / PNG / SVG | Encrypted Workspace, Notebook, Report Studio, batch reports and data provenance |
| Custom research and data | — | — | Formula Lab, Historical Regime, Lead-Lag, CSV Joiner, Point-in-Time, look-ahead checks, Data Bank, APIs and missing-data completion |
| Price | $0 | $5.90 monthly / $59 yearly | $14.90 monthly / $149 yearly |
Public descriptions use both “limited/basic” and “added in Core” language for some Free z-score, image and PDF functions. Treat the entitlement badge in the live workbench and the latest pricing page as the source of truth.
Paid features: move from checking data to keeping reproducible research
Core turns a recurring macro check into a saved, comparable and exportable routine. Global adds formulas, vintage-aware historical analysis, your own data and reporting so the question, source, transform and result can be reviewed later.
Make monitoring, saving and export routine
$5.90 monthly / $59 yearly
- COT full history, long-window percentiles, z-scores and multi-window change rankings
- Multi-market heatmaps, Rate Differential Builder and EIA Energy Board
- Local watchlists plus saved dashboards, layouts and annotations
- PDF / CSV / JSON / PNG / SVG export
Best fit: you review the same markets every week, compare them with the previous review and retain the output.
Bring validation, reporting and data expansion together
$14.90 monthly / $149 yearly
- Formula Lab, Historical Regime Lab and Lead-Lag Explorer
- Local CSV Joiner, Point-in-Time and Look-ahead Bias Detector
- Research Notebook, Report Studio, batch reports and Encrypted Workspace
- Global Rates Matrix, Country Macro Cards, central-bank, liquidity and scenario views
- Data Bank, supported external API and proprietary-data connections, missing-data completion and unlimited connections
- Subscriber-only custom macro-analysis feature implementation, subject to scope review and a separate quote
Best fit: you need formulas, historical regimes, vintages, proprietary data and reports managed within one documented process.
Choose the stage your workflow needs
- Free: learn the data and establish a review cadence
- Core: add saving, comparison, annotation and full export
- Global: add formulas, point-in-time integrity, CSV/API data and reporting
Yearly billing equals ten months of the monthly price, a two-month saving. Stripe handles checkout, subscription management and cancellation.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account or an installation to use Free?
The public workbench for checking key data does not require registration or installation. Saving, export, some higher-tier functions and the account dashboard require a login and an eligible plan. You can also add the workbench to a home screen as a PWA.
Is the displayed data real-time?
No. Bundled data are static snapshots of public sources. COT is weekly, U.S. rates follow business days, and EIA timing varies by series. Check the as-of date and last retrieval shown in each module.
Are my local CSV files or notes sent to SG Group’s servers?
Local CSV, formulas, watchlists, annotations, notes and workspaces are generally processed and stored in your browser, not sent to SG Group’s servers. If Global connects to an external API, your browser may communicate directly with that third-party provider.
What do “Waiting for data,” “Not configured” and “Warning” mean?
“Waiting for data” identifies an explanatory sample; “Not configured” means a connection or input is incomplete; and “Warning” may identify stale or missing data, a failed retrieval or incomplete provenance. Check status and as-of information before interpreting a value as live production data.
Can I load an Excel workbook directly?
No. Export xlsx, xls or ods to CSV or TSV first. Unzip ZIP/GZ archives and convert Parquet, Arrow or Feather to CSV or JSON. The workbench does not execute Excel macros.
What should I do if an API fails because of CORS?
Do not bypass the source’s CORS policy. Download or export a CSV from the provider and load it locally. Connectivity depends on the provider’s API specification, authentication, terms and permission for browser access.
What is the decisive difference between Core and Global?
Core extends Free into monitoring, saving, comparison and export. Global also adds formulas, historical regimes, lead/lag, CSV joining, Point-in-Time, look-ahead checks, reports, the Data Bank, APIs and proprietary-data connections.
How do plan changes, cancellation and refunds work?
Subscription management and cancellation run through Stripe’s customer portal. A change between paid plans is treated as a new subscription to the target plan and triggers a new charge. There is no prorated refund, offset or credit for unused time. After cancellation, access generally continues through the end of the current term.
Are implied forward rates or scenarios forecasts?
No. An implied forward is derived arithmetically from observed spot yields. A scenario is a mechanical recalculation from assumptions and formulas you enter. Neither guarantees future prices, policy outcomes or a trading direction.
Does the workbench tell me when to buy, sell or hold?
No. It descriptively organizes and visualizes public and user-provided data. It does not provide investment advice, buy/sell signals, instrument recommendations, entries, exits, price forecasts or discretionary management.
Update history
- — Added the static guide covering available data, interpretation, sources, update frequency, usage, plan comparison, FAQ, related research and disclaimer.
- — Published and linked the ten-part English macro-research article series.
For data freshness, use the as-of date, last retrieval and data version inside each module rather than this content history.
Disclaimer
Macro Research Workbench is software for informational and research-support purposes that mechanically organizes and visualizes public data and data users load on their devices. It does not provide investment advice, buy/sell signals, solicitation of financial products, instrument recommendations, entries, exits, target prices, price forecasts, personalized portfolio proposals or discretionary management.
- Data may be delayed, missing, erroneous, revised, or affected by changes in definitions and methods. Completeness, accuracy, timeliness, continued availability and fitness for a particular purpose are not guaranteed.
- Data from the CFTC, U.S. Treasury, EIA, FRED, World Bank, OECD, IMF, BIS, central banks and other providers are subject to each provider’s terms and licensing conditions.
- Users are responsible for confirming their rights to use connected data, API limits, licensing, quality and backups.
- Keep local files, API keys, encrypted-workspace files and passphrases secure. Clearing browser data may remove locally saved work.
- Examples, correlations, percentiles, z-scores, regimes, lead/lag results, scenarios and reports do not indicate or guarantee future results or profit.
- Users remain solely responsible for investment decisions and all resulting gains, losses, costs, taxes and other consequences. Consult an appropriately qualified professional when needed.