Is the Commitments of Traders Report a Real Institutional Guide or a Lagging Metric?

The CFTC releases the Commitments of Traders data every Friday afternoon, but the data reflects positioning from the previous Tuesday. In fast-moving Forex markets where billions of dollars move in seconds, a 3-day data delay can mean institutions have already unwound or flipped their positions before retail traders even open the report. Is the COT report useful for macro positioning or functionally obsolete for timing entries?