CONVEX
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▍ STATISTICAL PROJECTION · YEAR-END 2026

Based on current macro regime conditions and 10y note futures open interest's historical behaviour in similar regimes, the model projects 5,931,543.73 by 2026-12-31 ( +1.1% from 5,866,357 today). The 68% confidence range is 4,741,282.11 to 7,121,805.35; the wider 95% range is 3,598,630.95 to 8,264,456.51. Methodology below the headline.

Central Estimate
5,931,543.73
+1.1% vs current 5,866,357
68% Range (±1σ)
4,741,282.11 to 7,121,805.35
95% Range (±1.96σ)
3,598,630.95 to 8,264,456.51
Blended from 4 regime anchors· sample-weighted
VIX · Normal (15-25)
+4.1%n=518 · w=40%
10Y-2Y Yield Curve · Flat (0-100bps)
+5.0%n=393 · w=30%
HY OAS Spread · Tight (<350bps)
+4.1%n=191 · w=15%
Trade-Weighted Dollar · Weak (bottom tercile)
-12.9%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 25.4% ANNUALIZED REALIZED VOL.
EXPECTED TO BE 5,931,543.73 BY 2026-12-31 (HIGHER FROM 5,866,357 ON 2026-05-12). NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE.
▍ MODEL · STATISTICAL FORECAST · 2026

10Y Note Futures Open Interest Forecast 2026

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

ByConvex Research Desk·Edited byBen Bleier·
CFTC-ZN-OI · LAST
5,866,357
AS OF 2026-05-12
Percentile · 25Y History
99.7th
▍ HEADLINE SIGNAL · CONTRARIAN BEARISH
Hist. Avg +252d
-12.9%
vs +6.7% unconditional · -19.6%pp below
When Trade-Weighted Dollar sits in its Weak (bottom tercile) regime — as it does today (118.04) — 10Y Note Futures Open Interest has historically returned an average of -12.92% over the next 252 trading days, 19.6pp below the all-history average of +6.71%. Sample: 202 observations, 39.6% hit rate.
METHOD: PERCENTILE-RANK MATCHED, LOOK-AHEAD-BIAS-FREE·NOT A FORECAST·HISTORICAL CONDITIONAL AVERAGE

Regime Scan[01/04]

VIX
Normal (15-25)
+4.1%+1Y AVG
Δ -2.6%pp · n=518
10Y-2Y Yield Curve
Flat (0-100bps)
+5.0%+1Y AVG
Δ -1.7%pp · n=393
Trade-Weighted Dollar
Weak (bottom tercile)
-12.9%+1Y AVG
Δ -19.6%pp · n=202

Δ = divergence from +6.7% unconditional all-history average

Performance by Window[02]

WINDOWNANN RETANN VOLRET/VOLHIT %TOTAL
1Y5313.80%24.52%0.5657.7%13.75%
3Y1577.56%22.55%0.3459.0%24.34%
5Y2616.82%20.69%0.3356.2%38.92%
10Y5227.76%22.26%0.3556.8%110.98%
All1,0636.71%25.38%0.2656.0%275.16%

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
99.7th
888595.00median 2852436.006045379.00
Current value 5866357.0000 on a 1,063-observation history going back to Feb 24, 2009.
Volatility Regime
low
21.98%REALIZED 30D ANN
Sits at the 28.5th percentile vs full history. Median 24.69%.

Forward Returns by Macro Regime[04]

How 10Y Note Futures Open Interest 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)3632.04%3.90%7.96%8.90%74.0%
Normal (15-25)5181.37%3.05%4.11%7.23%66.2%
Elevated (25-40)147-1.57%0.92%13.16%17.76%76.4%
Extreme (>40)34-3.70%-1.78%19.21%20.47%85.3%
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)1632.61%6.03%9.70%7.21%80.4%
Flat (0-100bps)3930.61%2.21%4.98%10.22%65.4%
Steep (>100bps)5040.89%2.43%8.08%8.88%72.0%
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)1911.00%2.07%4.14%6.20%64.0%
Normal (350-500bps)2871.16%3.12%6.00%6.18%65.2%
Stressed (>500bps)1150.38%3.07%15.26%16.14%91.3%
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)202-0.03%0.04%-12.92%-5.91%39.6%
Neutral (middle)2622.38%5.29%16.44%15.12%80.7%
Strong (top tercile)5400.51%2.38%9.47%9.28%75.8%

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 Futures Open Interest; negative means it lags.

ANCHORROLEPEAK LAGPEAK CORRZERO-LAGRELATIONSHIP
Initial Jobless ClaimsLabor leader-42d-0.163-0.105lags target by 42d
HY OAS SpreadCredit risk leader-45d0.152-0.061lags target by 45d
Baa-10Y SpreadCredit risk (slow)+4d-0.146-0.033weak
Trade-Weighted DollarFX driver+17d-0.107-0.023weak
CopperGlobal growth proxy+4d0.1010.047weak
NFCIFinancial conditions-49d0.1000.030weak
VIXVolatility leader+17d-0.100-0.018weak
10Y-2Y Yield SpreadRecession leader-59d0.0960.039weak
10Y Treasury YieldDiscount-rate driver-38d0.0910.008weak
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 Futures Open Interest 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
May 6, 20254996132.0000-3.39%8.33%7.46%
Feb 4, 20254900888.0000-0.66%-1.52%12.12%
Oct 29, 20244602714.0000-3.37%2.09%20.89%
Jul 30, 20244754113.00000.52%-6.45%4.30%
Apr 30, 20244415393.0000-2.43%8.23%10.52%

Worst Historical Drawdown[07]

-70.95%PEAK-TO-TROUGH
Peak Aug 7, 2007 → trough Feb 24, 2009. Recovered to prior peak on May 26, 2015 (2,282 days).
All-time high: 6045379.0000 on Nov 25, 2025 · Current DD from ATH: -2.96%

Cross-Asset Correlations · 1Y[08]

S&P 500
0.233
n=50
Nasdaq 100
0.215
n=50
20Y Treasury
0.335
n=50
Gold
0.059
n=50
Bitcoin
-0.118
n=50

Largest Single-Period Moves[09]

▲ Up
  • Feb 23, 202112.33%
  • Mar 3, 200912.13%
  • Nov 28, 200611.31%
  • May 26, 201510.91%
  • Feb 8, 201110.35%
▼ Down
  • Feb 24, 2009-16.68%
  • Jun 4, 2019-12.75%
  • Jun 5, 2012-12.67%
  • Sep 6, 2011-12.21%
  • Mar 2, 2021-12.16%

Calendar-Month Seasonality[10]

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

MONTHAVG RETURNHIT %N
January1.98%78.9%90
February1.10%67.9%84
March-0.96%38.7%93
April0.90%65.6%90
May1.92%78.0%91
June-1.94%35.3%85
July0.61%56.2%89
August0.83%65.9%88
September-1.55%36.0%86
October0.31%57.3%89
November1.00%60.0%85
December-1.95%32.6%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 Futures Open Interest higher?

The primary drivers that tend to lift 10Y Note Futures Open Interest 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 Futures Open Interest lower?

The same transmission channels that drive 10Y Note Futures Open Interest 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 Futures Open Interest 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 Futures Open Interest?

Historical ranges for 10Y Note Futures Open Interest 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 Futures Open Interest chart page, which includes selectable time ranges up to five years and downloadable data.

How often is the 10Y Note Futures Open Interest 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.