Leveraged Funds Reduced Short USD Positions - ANZ
The ANZ Team shares summarizes the latest positioning data for the week
ending 17 May 2016, noting that Leveraged funds continued to be short
for the USD for a fourth straight week, although these short positions
were reduced by USD0.4bn to take it to USD3.3bn.
Key Quotes
USD has since rebounded further following the release of hawkish FOMC
Minutes on 18 May, so net USD shorts could have been trimmed further.
Leveraged accounts continue to reduce their net short positions in the EUR,but increased slightly their short GBP positions.
Net short EUR positions against the USD were reduced for a fourth
consecutive week, by USD1bn to USD2.9bn, the smallest shorts in two
years. Leveraged funds raised their net short GBP positions following a
reduction the previous week by USD0.2bn to USD0.6bn.
Leveraged funds, however, increased their net long JPY positions for the
first time in three weeks, by USD0.3bn to USD3.5bn. However, the move
higher in USD/JPY post the cut-off date could have seen positions pared
back.
As expected, speculative funds continued to reduce their net longs in
AUD following the rate cut and inflation downgrade earlier this month.
Funds reduced their net long positions by USD0.9bn to USD1.9bn, the
third consecutive week of reduction in net longs.
Leveraged accounts also reduced their net long positions in NZD by
USD0.2bn to USD0.8bn. Similarly, funds trimmed reduced their net CAD
longs by USD0.1bn to USD1bn amid a firmer USD (see Figure 9 in PDF).
On EM currencies, leveraged funds remained long in the BRL (USD0.5bn)
and RUB (USD0.2bn) with little changes in net positioning. However, they
remained net short in the MXN for a second consecutive week with a net
short of USD0.8bn
