CONVEX
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▍ STATISTICAL PROJECTION · YEAR-END 2026

Based on current macro regime conditions and 10y note net speculative positioning's historical behaviour in similar regimes, the model projects 790,018.34 by 2026-12-31 ( -201.1% from -781,167 today). The 68% confidence range is 54,518,261.79 to -52,938,225.1; the wider 95% range is 106,097,375.5 to -104,517,338.81. Methodology below the headline.

Central Estimate
790,018.34
-201.1% vs current -781,167
68% Range (±1σ)
54,518,261.79 to -52,938,225.1
95% Range (±1.96σ)
106,097,375.5 to -104,517,338.81
Blended from 4 regime anchors· sample-weighted
VIX · Normal (15-25)
-431.5%n=518 · w=40%
10Y-2Y Yield Curve · Flat (0-100bps)
+122.9%n=393 · w=30%
HY OAS Spread · Tight (<350bps)
-1155.3%n=191 · w=15%
Trade-Weighted Dollar · Weak (bottom tercile)
-72.5%n=202 · w=15%
METHOD: CENTRAL = SAMPLE-WEIGHTED MEAN OF PER-ANCHOR CURRENT-REGIME 1Y AVERAGES, SCALED TO 161-DAY HORIZON. BAND = ±σ√T USING 8604.9% ANNUALIZED REALIZED VOL.
EXPECTED TO BE 790,018.34 BY 2026-12-31 (LOWER FROM -781,167 ON 2026-05-12). NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE.
▍ MODEL · STATISTICAL FORECAST · 2026

10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning Forecast 2026

Quantitative analysis from 1,063 observations of 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning history, joined to four universal macro regime classifications. Numbers are computed, not narrated.

ByConvex Research Desk·Edited byBen Bleier·
CFTC-ZN-NET-SPEC · LAST
-781,167
AS OF 2026-05-12
Percentile · 25Y History
6.4th
▍ HEADLINE SIGNAL · CONTRARIAN BEARISH
Hist. Avg +252d
-431.5%
vs -8.9% unconditional · -422.5%pp below
When VIX sits in its Normal (15-25) regime — as it does today (17.26) — 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning has historically returned an average of -431.48% over the next 252 trading days, 422.5pp below the all-history average of -8.93%. Sample: 518 observations, 47.7% hit rate.
METHOD: PERCENTILE-RANK MATCHED, LOOK-AHEAD-BIAS-FREE·NOT A FORECAST·HISTORICAL CONDITIONAL AVERAGE

Regime Scan[01/04]

VIX
Normal (15-25)
-431.5%+1Y AVG
Δ -422.5%pp · n=518
10Y-2Y Yield Curve
Flat (0-100bps)
+122.9%+1Y AVG
Δ +131.8%pp · n=393
Trade-Weighted Dollar
Weak (bottom tercile)
-72.5%+1Y AVG
Δ -63.6%pp · n=202

Δ = divergence from -8.9% unconditional all-history average

Performance by Window[02]

WINDOWNANN RETANN VOLRET/VOLHIT %TOTAL
1Y5312.31%70.96%0.1753.8%12.26%
3Y157-4.48%84.93%-0.0551.3%-12.81%
5Y261-90.29%12022.56%-0.0149.6%-2567.83%
10Y522-17.38%8662.93%-0.0050.7%-595.43%
All1,063-8.93%8604.91%-0.0050.2%-670.37%

Annualized total return = (1 + total)^(1/years) - 1. Ret/Vol is the annualized return divided by annualized volatility (Sharpe-equivalent without risk-free subtraction). Hit % = pct of single periods that were positive.

Where We Are Now[03]

Percentile Rank
6.4th
-1143889.00median -83915.00608492.00
Current value -781167.0000 on a 1,063-observation history going back to Oct 1, 2024.
Volatility Regime
very low
80.84%REALIZED 30D ANN
Sits at the 8.8th percentile vs full history. Median 836.83%.

Forward Returns by Macro Regime[04]

How 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning has performed historically conditional on the prevailing macro regime. The current bucket is highlighted; +1Y averages drive the headline signal above.

VIX
Volatility regime: Low (<15), Normal (15-25), Elevated (25-40), Extreme (>40)
CURRENT: 17.26 Normal (15-25)
REGIME BUCKETN+30D+90D+1Y AVG+1Y MEDHIT %
Low (<15)36327.27%128.54%153.68%-4.67%48.9%
Normal (15-25)518-109.91%-231.07%-431.48%-5.01%47.7%
Elevated (25-40)147-858.08%48.60%297.97%-38.13%45.1%
Extreme (>40)34-205.02%-753.05%-848.53%-194.23%20.6%
10Y-2Y Yield Curve
Yield curve regime: Inverted (<0bps), Flat (0-100bps), Steep (>100bps)
CURRENT: 0.50 Flat (0-100bps)
REGIME BUCKETN+30D+90D+1Y AVG+1Y MEDHIT %
Inverted (<0bps)163-1.57%-11.20%-28.11%-31.41%31.3%
Flat (0-100bps)39345.24%170.97%122.89%12.71%54.5%
Steep (>100bps)504-389.20%-297.01%-340.52%-16.96%46.6%
HY OAS Spread
Credit regime: Tight (<350bps), Normal (350-500bps), Stressed (>500bps)
CURRENT: 2.76 Tight (<350bps)
REGIME BUCKETN+30D+90D+1Y AVG+1Y MEDHIT %
Tight (<350bps)191-258.02%-657.44%-1155.32%-16.76%37.4%
Normal (350-500bps)2873.21%-48.15%-186.58%-13.52%46.7%
Stressed (>500bps)11529.28%31.80%-25.81%96.25%64.3%
Trade-Weighted Dollar
Dollar regime: bottom/middle/top tercile of trailing 5Y rolling distribution
CURRENT: 118.04 Weak (bottom tercile)
REGIME BUCKETN+30D+90D+1Y AVG+1Y MEDHIT %
Weak (bottom tercile)202-711.59%29.68%-72.52%-94.80%29.7%
Neutral (middle)262-167.70%-507.09%-715.06%-61.37%39.5%
Strong (top tercile)540-13.40%-85.50%-88.74%6.59%52.8%

Forward returns are forward-looking from each historical observation in the bucket; +252d corresponds to one trading year. Buckets with fewer than 5 forward-return observations are reported as n/a. These are conditional historical averages, not forecasts.

Lead-Lag Relationships[05]

For each universally-recognised leading indicator, the lag at which the daily-return correlation peaks. Positive lag means the anchor leads 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning; negative means it lags.

ANCHORROLEPEAK LAGPEAK CORRZERO-LAGRELATIONSHIP
10Y-2Y Yield SpreadRecession leader-24d-0.2150.008lags target by 24d
10Y Treasury YieldDiscount-rate driver+49d0.1290.021weak
Initial Jobless ClaimsLabor leader+49d-0.1280.007weak
HY OAS SpreadCredit risk leader-28d-0.112-0.015weak
VIXVolatility leader-26d-0.093-0.022weak
CopperGlobal growth proxy-36d0.0860.046weak
Trade-Weighted DollarFX driver-54d0.083-0.053weak
Baa-10Y SpreadCredit risk (slow)-58d0.071-0.007weak
NFCIFinancial conditions+51d-0.017-0.002weak
U-Mich Consumer SentimentSurvey leader0d0.0000.000weak

Pearson correlation of daily returns over up to 25 years of overlapping history, searched across a ±60-day lag grid. Indicators classified as “weak” don't have meaningful predictive power at daily resolution; many of these (yield curve, NFCI, sentiment) lead at monthly/quarterly horizons instead.

Historical Analogs[06]

Periods where 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning sat at a similar percentile rank to today, with what happened over the next 30 / 90 / 252 trading days. Analogs are clustered to avoid double-counting nearby dates.

DATEVALUE+30D+90D+1Y
Apr 29, 2025-871537.000016.92%1.56%3.72%
Jan 28, 2025-700642.0000-5.20%-3.35%-3.64%
Jul 30, 2024-728470.0000-40.31%-20.21%-23.08%
Apr 30, 2024-432965.000028.93%-136.07%-101.30%
Dec 19, 2023-687572.0000-24.93%37.03%-6.59%

Worst Historical Drawdown[07]

-287.99%PEAK-TO-TROUGH
Peak Aug 14, 2007 → trough Oct 1, 2024. Has not yet recovered to prior peak.
All-time high: 608492.0000 on Aug 14, 2007 · Current DD from ATH: -228.38%

Cross-Asset Correlations · 1Y[08]

S&P 500
-0.110
n=50
Nasdaq 100
-0.027
n=50
20Y Treasury
-0.300
n=50
Gold
0.160
n=50
Bitcoin
0.032
n=50

Largest Single-Period Moves[09]

▲ Up
  • Sep 14, 202116492.69%
  • May 2, 20065887.68%
  • Mar 26, 20133079.97%
  • Mar 8, 20162565.90%
  • May 18, 20212500.99%
▼ Down
  • Sep 6, 2011-26342.34%
  • Oct 26, 2021-21011.21%
  • Mar 2, 2021-3528.15%
  • Jun 29, 2021-2493.43%
  • Feb 9, 2016-1164.41%

Calendar-Month Seasonality[10]

Average single-period return aggregated by the calendar month in which the period ended.

MONTHAVG RETURNHIT %N
January11.75%43.3%90
February-17.97%48.8%84
March-3.96%50.5%93
April3.78%52.2%90
May92.06%51.6%91
June-22.56%56.5%85
July-4.93%51.7%89
August-0.44%48.9%88
September-122.47%54.7%86
October-249.54%47.2%89
November45.10%55.3%85
December-22.01%42.4%92

N = 1,063 OBS · GENERATED 2026-05-17 18:30Z

Forecast Approach

trend extrapolation: Near-term trajectory extrapolation adjusted for mean-reversion tendencies and overhead resistance levels from technical analysis.

Key Drivers & Risks

  • Price momentum
  • Institutional flows
  • Retail sentiment
  • Contrarian signals

Historical Volatility

Moderate: sentiment oscillates around extremes

Frequently Asked Questions

What factors could push 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning higher?

The primary drivers that tend to lift 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning depend on the current macro regime. Positioning data reveals what the market is actually doing, as opposed to what it says it is doing. FINRA margin debt peaked ahead of every major bear market cycle of the last 40 years, while extreme readings in the AAII bull-bear spread are classic contrarian signals. CFTC commitments of traders separates speculative from commercial flow, identifying when large specs are overextended in either direction. Convex tracks these drivers live across the Sentiment & Positioning category and flags when multiple forces align in the same direction. See the "Key Drivers & Risks" section on this page for the current list, and check the regime dashboard for how the macro backdrop is currently tilted.

What factors could push 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning lower?

The same transmission channels that drive 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning higher operate in reverse when conditions flip. The risk drivers listed above map directly to scenarios that, if triggered, would pull this metric in the opposite direction. Convex aggregates these into a scenario-weighted probability distribution rather than a point forecast, so the magnitude depends on which scenarios activate.

Where does consensus see 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning heading?

Rather than publish a point target that goes stale the day after release, Convex assembles consensus from the macro regime classification, active scenario probabilities, and historical base rates. Point forecasts from banks and strategists are worth reading for context, but they typically cluster around the consensus and miss the tail events that actually move markets. The scenario-weighted approach here captures that tail risk explicitly.

What is the historical range for 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning?

Historical ranges for 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning vary dramatically by regime. A level that is extreme in Goldilocks can be routine in Stagflation, and vice versa. The Historical Volatility section on this page describes the typical range and regime-specific behavior. For the full multi-decade history, visit the 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning chart page, which includes selectable time ranges up to five years and downloadable data.

How often is the 10Y Note Net Speculative Positioning forecast updated?

This forecast page recalculates whenever the underlying data or regime classification changes, typically within hours of new data releases. The scenario probabilities refresh daily as the macro state is regenerated. Specific drivers listed on this page reflect the current state of the Convex regime engine, not static historical assumptions.

Is this forecast actionable for trading?

Convex forecasts are informational and educational. They describe probability distributions and regime-conditional paths rather than specific entry and exit levels. Traders and portfolio managers use them alongside other inputs including position sizing rules, risk management, and their own conviction calibration. They are not investment advice.

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Forecasts are model-based projections derived from current regime classification, scenario probabilities, and historical patterns. They are not investment advice. All investments involve risk.