The weekly snapshot from the CFTC covering the week ending Tuesday 22 January showed that hedge funds and other large investors continued to accumulate net-long EUR positions while long positions in CAD, GBP and CHF were scaled back. The net JPY short position was scaled back for a sixth week in a row as USDJPY ran into a small correction before taking off towards 90 and beyond later in the week. The gross dollar position derived from the eight IMM currency futures covered in this report stood at a negative USD 21.2 billion, a small increase from the previous week.
– The net-long increase in EUR was primarily due to a 14 percent reduction in the gross short position to the lowest level since August 2011. Strategic short positions were reduced amid worries that the potential for further gains is rising as the Eurozone debt crisis fades and the talk of a “currency war” in increasing.
– The AUD net-long has climbed to 97,000 contracts which was only surpassed back on 11 December when it reached 103,400 contracts. Continued JPY weakness seems to be the main driver behind this increase but also the fact that AUD traded near recent highs on the day data for this report was collected.
– The GBP net-long has more than halved since December as the economic outlook continues to deteriorate.
Click here to read the full report: FX CFTC_012813
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