FXStreet (Bali) - The FX Team at TD Securities reviews the latest changes in the CFTC Commitments of Traders Report, for the week ending Tuesday, August 5th, noting an overall increase in the implied net USD long position.
"According to the latest Commitments of Traders Report from the CFTC, changes in positioning by speculative investors and CTA-type accounts during the week ending on August 5th reflected an overall increase in the implied net USD long position from US$16bn to US$27bn. This resulted from net short extensions / net long reductions in all the currencies reported."
"The most significant change was a reduction in net MXN longs from 77.1K contracts to 32.4K contracts. JPY also saw a sizeable change in overall positioning, with net shorts being extended to -95.4K contracts from -73.1K prior, which – barring one report in March – represents the most bearish view on the yen this year."
"EUR run a similar fate, as net shorts were extended to -128.8K from -108.1K the week prior, the most pessimistic bet on the common currency since August 2012. Ditto for CHF, which went down to -18.9K from -11.8K."
"GBP also saw diminished interest by speculative investors, suffering a reduction in net longs to roughly half their size of the previous week for a total of 12.1K net longs – the lowest since early February."
"The commodity currencies also showed lower net longs. Net AUD longs were scaled back by 6.3K contracts to +33.3K, while net NZD longs saw a minor reduction to +14.5K contracts. Meanwhile, net CAD longs dropped to +21.5K from +22.7K, leaving plenty of room for CAD long liquidation to drive the currency lower."
Marc Chandler, Global Head of Currency Strategy at BBH, reviews the latest speculative positioning in the futures market, noting that there were four significant position adjustments (more than 10k contracts) in the reporting week ending August 5.
Based on the latest CFTC positioning data, the overriding theme last week was long USD, notes the FX Strategy Team at Societe Generale.