US Dollar Speculators Raise Bullish Positions Again

Overall changes on the week for the major currencies showed that large speculators increased their bets last week in favor of the Swiss franc, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and the Mexican Peso while decreasing weekly bets for the euro, British pound sterling, Japanese yen and the New Zealand dollar.

Notable changes on the week for the Major Currencies:

• Euro positions dropped by -4,837 contracts after a rebound the previous week. Eurofx positions are highly bearish and have remained over the -160,000 contracts level for four consecutive weeks. The EURUSD exchange rate was over the 1.2500 level on Tuesday Nov 18th although finished the week off on a decline by over 1% to trade under 1.2400

• British pound sterling positions decreased for a 7th week and to a new most bearish level since September of 2013. The GBPUSD spot exchange rate saw a slight decline to end the week with the price closing near the 1.5650 level. The GBPUSD has now closed lower for the past five weeks

• Japanese yen bets fell again last week for a third straight week and to the lowest level in six weeks. The USDJPY exchange rate continued to strengthen sharply for a 5th week and ended the week over the 117 level

• Swiss franc bets edged up last week by +559 contracts although the franc positions remain near their lowest levels since June 2013. The USDCHF pair closed the week over 1% higher and right below the 0.9700 exchange rate

• Canadian dollar positions edged higher last week with net positions falling below the -20,000 level. The USDCAD exchange rate ended the week lower (-0.50%) with the price coming in just below the 1.1250 major level

• Australian dollar net positions edged very slightly higher for a second week. The AUDUSD finished the week lower (-0.88%) with the exchange rate near the 0.8675 level

• New Zealand dollar net positions edged lower last week (-258 contracts) and the net position remains slightly bearish overall for a 7th week. The NZDUSD exchange rate ended the week a bit lower (-0.30%) and just below the 0.7900 level

• Mexican peso positions edged slightly higher last week (+640 contracts). Peso speculator positions have been on the bearish side now for eight straight weeks and remain just below the -30,000 level. The USDMXN exchange rate ended the week higher and at the 13.5974 level

This latest COT data is through Tuesday November 18th and shows a quick view of how large speculators and for-profit traders (non-commercials) were positioned in the futures markets. All currency positions are in direct relation to the US dollar where, for example, a bet for the euro is a bet that the euro will rise versus the dollar while a bet against the euro will be a bet that the dollar will gain versus the euro.

Please see the individual currency charts and their respective data points below.

EuroFX: