Sept. 15, 2018 – By CountingPips.com – Receive our weekly COT Reports by Email

US Dollar Index Non-Commercial Speculator Positions:

The latest data for the weekly Commitment of Traders (COT) report, released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday, showed that large currency speculators once again raised their bullish net positions in the US Dollar Index futures markets this week.

The non-commercial futures contracts of US Dollar Index futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net position of 34,495 contracts in the data reported through Tuesday September 11th. This was a weekly rise of 1,009 contracts from the previous week which had a total of 33,486 net contracts.

Speculative bets for the US Dollar Index had dipped last week for the first time in twenty weeks before this week’s boost. Overall, the US Dollar Index speculator positions have now been in a bullish position for the past eighteen weeks and above the +30,000 contract level for a six straight weeks.

Individual Currencies Data this week:

The major currency contracts data on the week showed that speculators bet in favor of the US Dollar Index (1,009 weekly change in contracts), the euro (3,207 contracts), the British pound sterling (8,434 contracts), Swiss franc (5,044 contracts), New Zealand dollar (2,247 contracts) and the Mexican peso (2,017 contracts).

The currencies whose speculative bets declined this week were the Japanese yen (-1,954 weekly change in contracts), Canadian dollar (-635 contracts) and the Australian dollar (-281 contracts).

See the table and individual currency charts below.

This latest COT data is through Tuesday 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.

Weekly Charts: Large Trader Weekly Positions vs Price

EuroFX:

Euro bets bounced back for a second straight week this week. The overall position is now in bullish territory for a second week after falling into bearish levels in the previous three weeks.

British Pound Sterling:

British pound sterling bets also rose for a second straight week after five weeks of decline. The overall position remains very bearish and above the -60,000 net contract level for a fifth week in a row.

Japanese Yen:

Japanese yen bets dipped slightly for a second consecutive week following five weeks of improving positions. The overall level continues to be in a bearish standing of more than -30,000 net contract level for a thirteenth week.

Swiss Franc:

Swiss franc positions improved (less bearish) for a third straight week this week. The overall position is now at the least bearish level in the past twelve weeks and below the -40,000 net contract level.

Canadian Dollar:

Canadian dollar bearish bets increased for a second straight week and for the fourth time out of the past five weeks. The current standing has now remained above the -20,000 net contract level for the past twelve weeks.

Australian Dollar:

Australian dollar bearish bets edged higher this week following four straight weeks of lessening bearish positions. The current standing remains very bearish with the net contract level now remaining over -40,000 contracts for the last ten weeks.

New Zealand Dollar:

New Zealand dollar bets improved this week and have seen less bearish levels in three out of the past four weeks. The current standing still remains very bearish with the bets exceeding the -20,000 net contracts level for eleven weeks in a row.

Mexican Peso:

Mexican peso bullish positions rose this week following four consecutive weeks of declines. The peso remains in a small bullish position and has continued to stay in a bullish standing for the past eleven weeks.

*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.

Article by CountingPips.com