3 Feb 2014
Flash: CTA and Specs show sharp position adjustments - TDS
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - Based on the CFTC Commitments of Traders Report - Week Ending Tuesday Jan 28 - CTA and speculative accounts show sharp position adjustments, notes Shaun Osborne, Chief FX Strategist at TD Securities.
Key Quotes
"The aggregate long USD position was trimmed quite sharply to a total of USD17.7bn after four weeks of steady accumulation."
"Net EUR positions had been steadily pared back over the course of the past five weeks to a small net short (-3.7k contracts last week). That position was reversed to show a net long of 14.3k contracts this week. Elsewhere, speculators boosted net GBP longs (from +8.7k contracts last week to +22.1k contracts now). Net CHF positions were kept at more or less flat."
"Investors also covered net short JPY positions quite aggressively this week, taking the net short here to –86.1k contracts, down from –114.9k contracts last week. That represents the smallest bet against the JPY since early November. "
"Safety is perhaps the motivator with regard to JPY positioning as speculative accounts ramped up net short exposure to the MXN—unusually so—while covering JPY shorts amid heightened emerging market volatility. Net MXN shorts rose to –35.3k contracts from just –3.6k contracts in the prior week. That is one of the biggest bets against the MXN ever seen on the IMM (the largest net short was –41.8k contracts in 2004). "
" By contrast, the commodity currencies were barely affected by these positional changes. Investors covered net CAD short positions modestly, and somewhat counter-intuitively, considering the environment. The net CAD short was cut to –62.7k contracts from –70k last week). AUD positioning was barely changed (net short of –65.7k contracts) and NZD exposure was stable (a small net long of 9.6k contracts from 8.5k contracts last)."
Key Quotes
"The aggregate long USD position was trimmed quite sharply to a total of USD17.7bn after four weeks of steady accumulation."
"Net EUR positions had been steadily pared back over the course of the past five weeks to a small net short (-3.7k contracts last week). That position was reversed to show a net long of 14.3k contracts this week. Elsewhere, speculators boosted net GBP longs (from +8.7k contracts last week to +22.1k contracts now). Net CHF positions were kept at more or less flat."
"Investors also covered net short JPY positions quite aggressively this week, taking the net short here to –86.1k contracts, down from –114.9k contracts last week. That represents the smallest bet against the JPY since early November. "
"Safety is perhaps the motivator with regard to JPY positioning as speculative accounts ramped up net short exposure to the MXN—unusually so—while covering JPY shorts amid heightened emerging market volatility. Net MXN shorts rose to –35.3k contracts from just –3.6k contracts in the prior week. That is one of the biggest bets against the MXN ever seen on the IMM (the largest net short was –41.8k contracts in 2004). "
" By contrast, the commodity currencies were barely affected by these positional changes. Investors covered net CAD short positions modestly, and somewhat counter-intuitively, considering the environment. The net CAD short was cut to –62.7k contracts from –70k last week). AUD positioning was barely changed (net short of –65.7k contracts) and NZD exposure was stable (a small net long of 9.6k contracts from 8.5k contracts last)."