Currency Speculators boosted US Dollar positions to highest since June

August 8, 2015

By CountingPips.com | Weekly Large Trader COT Report: Currencies

US Dollar net speculator positions advanced last week to +$32.77 billion

The latest data for the weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) report, released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday, showed that large traders and currency speculators boosted their overall net bullish positions in the US dollar last week for a fifth straight week.

Non-commercial large futures traders, including hedge funds, commodity funds and large speculators, had an overall US dollar long position totaling $32.77 billion as of Tuesday August 4th, according to the latest data from the CFTC and dollar amount calculations by Reuters. This was a weekly change of +$2.98 billion from the $29.79 billion total long position that was registered on July 28th, according to the Reuters calculation that totals the US dollar contracts against the combined contracts of the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

Last week’s data brings the US dollar speculative level to the highest level since June 9th when when net positions stood at $34.70 billion.

Weekly Speculator Contract Changes:

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


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This latest COT data is through Tuesday August 4th and shows a quick view of how large speculators or non-commercials (for-profit traders) as well as the commercial traders (hedgers & traders for business purposes) 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. (Click on Charts to Enlarge)

Weekly Charts: Large Trader Weekly Positions vs Price

EuroFX:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 346115 688 134756 2847 -100035 -729
20150707 354885 8770 141478 6722 -99266 769
20150714 356760 1875 143924 2446 -107781 -8515
20150721 366892 10132 153115 9191 -112976 -5195
20150728 357940 -8952 140919 -12196 -104008 8968
20150804 367885 9945 152023 11104 -113394 -9386

 

 

British Pound Sterling:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 181413 2772 7118 -8469 -12759 9435
20150707 168480 -12933 21171 14053 -22973 -10214
20150714 157073 -11407 23213 2042 -24199 -1226
20150721 164779 7706 19635 -3578 -21468 2731
20150728 173295 8516 5166 -14469 -9788 11680
20150804 169224 -4071 6396 1230 -6557 3231

 

Japanese Yen:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 254014 6175 117282 -18042 -78822 8895
20150707 250828 -3186 100465 -16817 -63629 15193
20150714 247704 -3124 83497 -16968 -47371 16258
20150721 251136 3432 99635 16138 -62314 -14943
20150728 246269 -4867 99232 -403 -63538 -1224
20150804 252655 6386 119981 20749 -79716 -16178

 

Swiss Franc:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 21472 -397 -3501 -153 6855 -217
20150707 23740 2268 169 3670 6121 -734
20150714 22390 -1350 1305 1136 3081 -3040
20150721 28424 6034 6050 4745 3417 336
20150728 32365 3941 11037 4987 124 -3293
20150804 37399 5034 14729 3692 -1466 -1590

 

 

Canadian Dollar:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 91797 10417 30753 6347 -23450 -5871
20150707 120095 28298 47453 16700 -32268 -8818
20150714 138431 18336 60728 13275 -40726 -8458
20150721 153762 15331 67331 6603 -43568 -2842
20150728 162118 8356 81035 13704 -56067 -12499
20150804 170087 7969 87720 6685 -64180 -8113

 

Australian Dollar:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 118443 2259 28743 4268 -12031 -2979
20150707 135648 17205 47565 18822 -22197 -10166
20150714 148406 12758 60101 12536 -33541 -11344
20150721 159796 11390 70911 10810 -40850 -7309
20150728 165974 6178 81970 11059 -50659 -9809
20150804 168404 2430 81451 -519 -49412 1247

 

 

New Zealand Dollar:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 43256 345 20163 2657 -16066 -2503
20150707 42873 -383 22164 2001 -18348 -2282
20150714 42311 -562 23537 1373 -19654 -1306
20150721 38544 -3767 20537 -3000 -15954 3700
20150728 37487 -1057 17041 -3496 -12765 3189
20150804 38530 1043 15941 -1100 -11899 866

 

Mexican Peso:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Date Open Interest Change OI Net Commercial Positions Weekly Com Changes Net Large Specs Positions Weekly Spec Changes
20150630 111471 -405 42553 11381 -38759 -10892
20150707 140418 28947 77155 34602 -72415 -33656
20150714 153639 13221 77500 345 -72718 -303
20150721 189662 36023 86785 9285 -81424 -8706
20150728 196328 6666 94252 7467 -88843 -7419
20150804 191087 -5241 87966 -6286 -82048 6795

 

*COT Report: The weekly commitment of traders report summarizes the total trader positions for open contracts in the futures trading markets. The CFTC categorizes trader positions according to commercial hedgers (traders who use futures contracts for hedging as part of the business), non-commercials (large traders who speculate to realize trading profits) and nonreportable traders (usually small traders/speculators). Find CFTC criteria here: (http://www.cftc.gov/MarketReports/CommitmentsofTraders/ExplanatoryNotes/index.htm).

The Commitment of Traders report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions data that was reported as of the previous Tuesday (3 days behind).

Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and a net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar.

(The charts overlay the forex closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.) See more information and explanation on the weekly COT report from the CFTC website.

All information contained in this article cannot be guaranteed to be accurate and is used at your own risk. All information and opinions on this website are for general informational purposes only and do not in any way constitute investment advice.

Article by CountingPips.com

 

 

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