US dollar bearish bets increase reversed with total net shorts declining to $31.57 billion from $32.13 against the major currencies during the one week period, according to the report of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) covering data up to August 18 and released on Friday August 21. The decline in net short dollar bets came about mainly from increase in bearish bets on Canadian Dollar and significant decrease in bullish bets on Swiss franc and Japanese yen as Japan reported the world’s third-largest economy shrank 27.8% from a year earlier in the three months ending in June. At the same time Pound bets turned bullish despite UK officially entering recession as it suffered bigger GDP slump than Germany, France and Japan – 20.4% over quarter in Q2 following 2.2% decline in Q1positive. And in US the Labor Department reported 963 thousand Americans filed for first-time benefits, a consecutive weekly decline of 223,000. The bearish dollar bets declined despite a Census Bureau report US retail sales rose below-expected 1.2% over month in July instead of a forecast of a 2% increase.
CFTC Sentiment vs Exchange Rate
| August 18 2020 | Bias | Ex RateTrend | Position $ mln | Weekly Change |
| CAD | bearish | positive | -2551 | -330 |
| AUD | bearish | negative | -239 | 10 |
| EUR | bullish | negative | 29375 | 60 |
| GBP | bearish | negative | 538 | 768 |
| CHF | bullish | negative | 2008 | -333 |
| JPY | bullish | negative | 2441 | -730 |
| Total | 31571 |
Free Reports:
Sign Up for Our Stock Market Newsletter – Get updated on News, Charts & Rankings of Public Companies when you join our Stocks Newsletter
Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.
- Geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions continue to pressure market sentiment Jul 20, 2026
- USD/JPY Poised to Continue Gains as Expensive Oil and Lack of Support Weigh on Yen Jul 20, 2026
- COT Metals Charts: Weekly Speculator Bets led by Copper & Steel Jul 18, 2026
- COT Bonds Charts: Weekly Speculator Bets led by 2-Year, SOFR 3M & 5-Year Bonds Jul 18, 2026
- COT Energy Charts: Weekly Speculator Bets led by Brent Oil & Heating Oil Jul 18, 2026
- COT Soft Commodities Charts: Weekly Speculator Bets led by Wheat, Corn & Soybean Meal Jul 18, 2026
- The Bank of Canada kept its interest rate unchanged. Platinum prices reached a three‑week high Jul 16, 2026
- Stock indices rose after the release of US inflation data. China’s GDP slowed sharply Jul 15, 2026
- GBP/USD Awaits Political News: What Will Happen Next Jul 15, 2026
- USD/JPY Holds at Highs: Pressure Lingers on Yen Jul 14, 2026
