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

US Dollar net speculator positions dropped last week to +$30.39 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 sharply reduced their overall net bullish positions in the US dollar before the US interest rate decision last week to the lowest level since early November.

Non-commercial large futures traders, including hedge funds and large speculators, had an overall US dollar long position totaling $30.39 billion as of Tuesday December 15th, according to the latest data from the CFTC and dollar amount calculations by Reuters. This was a weekly change of -$10.83 billion from the $41.22 billion total long position that was registered on December 8th, 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 decrease was the largest one week fall since June for the US dollar speculative level as traders reduced dollar positions ahead of Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve rate decision which saw the central bank raise the rate by 25 basis points. The US dollar speculative level is now at the lowest level since November 3rd when net positions stood at $28.07 billion.

Weekly Speculator Contract Changes:

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

This latest COT data is through Tuesday December 15th 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

British Pound Sterling:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Japanese Yen:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Swiss Franc:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Canadian Dollar:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Australian Dollar:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

New Zealand Dollar:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

Mexican Peso:

Last 6 Weeks of Large Trader Positions

*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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