PineConnector Pulse · Open research · August 2026 edition
The state of retail trading automation. Measured.
Since January 2021, PineConnector has carried retail trading signals from TradingView into MetaTrader — around 200 million of them. Every one is a decision a trader trusted to code instead of a mouse click. Pulse publishes what that flow looks like, on this page, as aggregates anyone can use and cite.
Why we publish this
Retail traders who automate are almost invisible in the data everyone else works from. Exchanges see orders, not whether a human or a strategy placed them. Brokers see their own book. Surveys ask people what they think they do. The bridge between the world's largest charting platform and the world's most-used retail trading terminals sees something nobody else can: what retail actually automates, at scale, in the wild.
Publishing it as open aggregates makes that visibility useful to everyone:
For traders
A benchmark for your own choices. Is the market you automate a crowded lane or a frontier? Is your long-only bot swimming with the flow or against it? Are you trading the hours where automated flow concentrates — or the ones it avoids?
For strategy builders & educators
A demand signal. What retail actually automates — by asset class, by direction, by session — tells you what to build, backtest and teach next, instead of guessing from forum chatter.
For brokers & platforms
An infrastructure planning input. When automated retail flow peaks and where it concentrates is exactly what capacity, liquidity and support staffing decisions need.
For researchers & journalists
A primary, citable source on a population academic literature barely covers: systematic retail flow. Every figure ships with its methodology, its data table and a canonical citation.
01 · Most automated markets
Where the flow concentrates
Top markets by share of tracked automated flow in August 2026 — measured across 3.8M signals in 214 markets — and which way each market's flow leaned. The remaining 21.4% spreads across 204 smaller markets.
Share of tracked automated flow
August 2026 · top 10 markets
Which way the flow leans
Net long bias per market (long % − short %). Right of the axis skews long, left skews short.
Data table
| Market | Share of flow | Long | Short | Net bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (XAU/USD) | 22.6% | 61.4% | 38.6% | +22.8 pts |
| EUR/USD | 14.2% | 52.7% | 47.3% | +5.4 pts |
| NAS100 | 9.8% | 57.9% | 42.1% | +15.8 pts |
| GBP/USD | 7.4% | 49.3% | 50.7% | -1.4 pts |
| BTC/USD | 6.1% | 63.8% | 36.2% | +27.6 pts |
| US30 | 5.2% | 55.2% | 44.8% | +10.4 pts |
| USD/JPY | 4.9% | 46.1% | 53.9% | -7.8 pts |
| Silver (XAG/USD) | 3.4% | 58.6% | 41.4% | +17.2 pts |
| GER40 | 2.8% | 51.9% | 48.1% | +3.8 pts |
| USD/CAD | 2.2% | 44.8% | 55.2% | -10.4 pts |
02 · Asset classes
Where the flow lives
Automated retail flow is not spread evenly. Jump to a class — symbol shares below are within each class.
Foreign exchange44.6% of all flow
Most active symbols
Share of foreign exchange flow · August 2026 · remaining 14.6% below threshold or outside the top list
Which way the flow leans
Net long bias per symbol (long % − short %)
Data table
| Symbol | Share of class flow | Long | Short | Net bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 31.8% | 52.7% | 47.3% | +5.4 pts |
| GBP/USD | 16.6% | 49.3% | 50.7% | -1.4 pts |
| USD/JPY | 11% | 46.1% | 53.9% | -7.8 pts |
| AUD/USD | 7.9% | 51.2% | 48.8% | +2.4 pts |
| USD/CAD | 6.8% | 44.8% | 55.2% | -10.4 pts |
| EUR/GBP | 4.4% | 50.6% | 49.4% | +1.2 pts |
| NZD/USD | 3.7% | 53.4% | 46.6% | +6.8 pts |
| USD/CHF | 3.2% | 45.3% | 54.7% | -9.4 pts |
Commodities28.3% of all flow
Most active symbols
Share of commodities flow · August 2026 · remaining 1.1% below threshold or outside the top list
Which way the flow leans
Net long bias per symbol (long % − short %)
Data table
| Symbol | Share of class flow | Long | Short | Net bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (XAU/USD) | 79.9% | 61.4% | 38.6% | +22.8 pts |
| Silver (XAG/USD) | 12% | 58.6% | 41.4% | +17.2 pts |
| Crude Oil (WTI) | 5.4% | 43.7% | 56.3% | -12.6 pts |
| Natural Gas | 1.6% | 47.2% | 52.8% | -5.6 pts |
Equity indices17.8% of all flow
Most active symbols
Share of equity indices flow · August 2026 · remaining 2% below threshold or outside the top list
Which way the flow leans
Net long bias per symbol (long % − short %)
Data table
| Symbol | Share of class flow | Long | Short | Net bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAS100 | 52.4% | 57.9% | 42.1% | +15.8 pts |
| US30 | 27.9% | 55.2% | 44.8% | +10.4 pts |
| GER40 | 12.1% | 51.9% | 48.1% | +3.8 pts |
| US500 | 5.6% | 56.3% | 43.7% | +12.6 pts |
Crypto9.3% of all flow
Most active symbols
Share of crypto flow · August 2026 · remaining 3.9% below threshold or outside the top list
Which way the flow leans
Net long bias per symbol (long % − short %)
Data table
| Symbol | Share of class flow | Long | Short | Net bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC/USD | 65.6% | 63.8% | 36.2% | +27.6 pts |
| ETH/USD | 24.3% | 60.2% | 39.8% | +20.4 pts |
| SOL/USD | 6.2% | 66.9% | 33.1% | +33.8 pts |
03 · The trading clock
When the machines trade
Automated doesn't mean around-the-clock. In August 2026 the busiest hour was 14:00–15:00 UTC (8.3% of the day's flow) and the quietest was 01:00–02:00 (1.5%) — automation still keeps market hours, concentrating where its markets are most alive. All times UTC.
Flow by hour of day
Share of the period's tracked signals per UTC hour · peak and quietest hours labeled · mid-afternoon peak = the London–New York overlap
Data table
| Hour | Share of flow |
|---|---|
| 00:00–01:00 | 1.8% |
| 01:00–02:00 | 1.5% |
| 02:00–03:00 | 1.6% |
| 03:00–04:00 | 1.9% |
| 04:00–05:00 | 2.2% |
| 05:00–06:00 | 2.6% |
| 06:00–07:00 | 3.4% |
| 07:00–08:00 | 4.6% |
| 08:00–09:00 | 5.6% |
| 09:00–10:00 | 5.2% |
| 10:00–11:00 | 4.8% |
| 11:00–12:00 | 4.6% |
| 12:00–13:00 | 5.4% |
| 13:00–14:00 | 6.8% |
| 14:00–15:00 | 8.3% |
| 15:00–16:00 | 8.1% |
| 16:00–17:00 | 6.9% |
| 17:00–18:00 | 5.4% |
| 18:00–19:00 | 4.4% |
| 19:00–20:00 | 3.8% |
| 20:00–21:00 | 3.2% |
| 21:00–22:00 | 2.7% |
| 22:00–23:00 | 2.4% |
| 23:00–00:00 | 2.8% |
Flow by day of week
Weekend flow (2.2% combined) is almost entirely crypto — the only tracked class whose markets stay open.
Data table
| Day | Share of flow |
|---|---|
| Mon | 18.2% |
| Tue | 21.4% |
| Wed | 21.9% |
| Thu | 20.7% |
| Fri | 15.6% |
| Sat | 1% |
| Sun | 1.2% |
04 · Reports · RSS
Monthly reports
The narrative editions: what moved, what flipped, what surprised us.
- Pulse Monthly — August 2026 (sample)August 28, 2026
- Introducing PineConnector Pulse (sample)August 27, 2026
05 · Method
How the numbers are made — and what we never publish
Every figure on this page is an aggregate over the stated month: shares of tracked flow, long/short splits over position-opening commands, all summing to 100% with sub-threshold markets excluded rather than estimated. Never account-level, license-level or order-level data. No figure small enough that one trader could move it. No broker names. No performance claims. Corrections are noted, never silent.