Speculators in the futures market were not particularly active in
Commitment of Traders reporting week ending April 5. There was only one gross position adjustment which we
regard as significant (defined as a 10k contract change), and that was in the yen.
Yen bulls extended their gross long position by 13.3k contract to new record of 98.1k
contracts. However, the bears are beginning to get
itchy and have sold into the yen gains for the second consecutive week.
The gross short yen position rose by 7.6k contracts after a minor
increase the previous week (less than 150 contracts)
and now stands at 38.1k contracts. The net long position increased from 54.4k contracts to 60.1k, which is a
four-week high.
Another notable
development in speculative positioning the currency futures was the swing to a
net long Canadian dollar position, the first since last June. The net long position of 100 contracts (from a net short position of 6.2k contracts) was
more a product of shorts covering than the establishment of new long. The gross short position was pared by 4.9k contracts
to 29.4k. This is smallest since
last May and contrasts to a peak at the end of last year of 108k short
contracts. The gross long position grew by 1.4k contracts to 29.6k. At
the start of the year, the speculative gross long position was 47.6k contracts.
Speculators in
the futures market also continue to extend short sterling positions. The net short position of 46.5k
contracts (from 40.0k the previous reporting week) is a four-week high.
The bears added 7.1k contracts to
the gross short position, lifting it to 86.1k contracts. This is the largest gross short position since
2013 and nearly double the size of the position
from late-October (almost 44k contracts). The gross long position edged
higher by 600 contracts to 39.6k, which is among the smallest speculative long
positions in the currency futures we track.
The net short
speculative euro position in the futures market fell to 53.5k contracts from
63.8k. It is the smallest net short
position since February. The bulls
added 4.3k contracts to their gross long position, lifting it to 98.0k contracts.
This is a 50% increase since
mid-January. The bears covered 6.0k contracts, leaving a gross short position of 151.5k contracts.
This is the smallest since October
and compares with 262k gross short contracts in December.
There were two
distinct patterns among speculative position adjustments. The first was that speculators
mostly added to long currency positions. There were two exceptions: the Swiss franc and New Zealand dollar. Together these two
position adjustments were 1.5k contracts. The second pattern was the
reduction of gross short positions. There were two exceptions here too.
We have already noted both. Gross
yen and sterling short positions were grown, a little more than 7k contracts
each.
Speculators
sold US 10-year Treasury futures. The net short position swelled to
117.3k contracts from 16.9k. Bulls took profits, liquidating 63.8k gross
long contracts to 384.9k. The bears sold into the rally, raising the gross short position by 36.6k contracts to
502.2k.
| 5-Apr | Commitment of Traders | |||||
| Net | Prior | Gross Long | Change | Gross Short | Change | |
| Euro | -53.5 | -63.8 | 98.0 | 4.3 | 151.5 | -6.0 |
| Yen | 60.1 | 54.4 | 98.1 | 13.3 | 38.1 | 7.6 |
| Sterling | -46.5 | -40.0 | 39.6 | 0.6 | 86.1 | 7.1 |
| Swiss Franc | 5.6 | 4.6 | 16.6 | -1.4 | 10.9 | -2.4 |
| C$ | 0.1 | -6.2 | 29.6 | 1.4 | 29.4 | -4.9 |
| A$ | 26.8 | 23.5 | 78.2 | 1.2 | 51.4 | -2.2 |
| NZ$ | 2.9 | 1.9 | 20.2 | -0.1 | 17.2 | -1.1 |
| Mexican Peso | -31.9 | -40.8 | 40.9 | 7.9 | 72.7 | -1.1 |
| (CFTC, Bloomberg) Speculative positions in 000's of contracts Disclaimer | ||||||
Specs Shift to Net Long Canadian Dollar and Set New Record Gross Long Yen
Reviewed by Marc Chandler
on
April 09, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Marc Chandler
on
April 09, 2016
Rating:
