This from ANZ on the data released Friday (for the week ending 20 February 2018). In brief:
Net USD buying by leveraged funds and real asset managers could not be sustained for a second week.
- Leveraged funds and real asset managers increased their overall net short USD position by USD0.1bn to USD7.5bn, and USD0.8bn to USD22.6bn respectively.
- While the USD had been getting some support from higher US bond yields, this is not being reflecting in the positioning data. Overall short USD positions remain extended.
Unwinding of short JPY positions by leveraged funds continued for the sixth straight week.
- The USD1.7bn of net JPY buying in the week takes the total buying in the past six weeks to USD5.7bn, reducing overall net short JPY positions to USD5.4bn, the lowest since September last year.
- Leveraged funds JPY positioning is now at the 53rd percentile, coming down from the 100th percentile in mid-November 2017.
- Asset managers too raised their net JPY longs to a near-record high of USD2.4bn
EUR saw net selling by leveraged funds for the third consecutive week,
- reducing their overall net long EUR positions by USD1bn to USD5bn
- Asset managers however, added to their net long EUR positions by USD0.5bn to USD21.5bn, ending three straight weeks of selling
GBP saw net selling for the second consecutive week by leveraged funds.
- Net long GBP position was trimmed by USD0.6bn to USD3.7bn
- However, asset managers trimmed their net GBP shorts marginally after three straight weeks of net selling
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Note ..... ANZ look at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a little differently to others. In a summarised description of how they use it (any errors are mine):
- There are two reports compiled by the CFTC: the Commitment of Traders (COT) and the Traders in Financial Futures (TFF)
- The TFF report provides a richer breakdown of traders into the 'sell side' and 'buy side'
- ANZ use the parts of the TFF report (combined futures and options position of Leveraged Funds) as a proxy for leveraged positioning, where available
