Position date vs publication date

The position date is the day a short position existed; the publication date is the day the regulator released the figure. They are never the same day.

The UK publishes two working days after the position date, Australia four trading days after, and the US about nine business days after each twice-monthly settlement date. Every figure on this site is stamped with its position date, and the two dates are stored separately in the underlying data so they are never confused.

The lag is why short data is always a little old on arrival, why a number can sit unchanged for weeks, and why regulators sometimes revise the recent past.

Related terms

Settlement date: The date on which a share trade is completed by delivery and payment; FINRA's short interest is counted as of settlement, not trade date.

T+4 (Australia): ASIC publishes each trading day's aggregate short positions four trading days in arrears.

Revision: A regulator amending a previously published figure; both the old and new values are archived here and revised figures carry a marker.