As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended April 21, NET LENGTH in USD Index added +259 contracts to 15 616. Speculative long positions gained +989 contracts and short positions added +723 contracts. Concerning European currencies, NET LENGTH in EUR futures rose +601 contracts to 87 218. NET SHORT for GBP futures drifted to NET SHORT of 1 380 contracts for the week. Data released during the week revealed weakness in the economy. Rightmove house price gained +2.1% y/y in April, down from +3.5% a month ago. On monthly basis, house price contracted -0.2%. On the job market, the ILO unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 4% in the three months through to February, compared with consensus of 3.9%. This has not yet reflected the impact. Claimant’s report showed that the number of unemployed increased +12.1K in March , better than consensus of 172.5K addition. Headline CPI moderated to +1.5% y/y in March, from +1.7% a month ago. Core inflation slipped to +1.6%, compared with February’s +1.7%. Both came in inline with consensus. Moderation in inflation has offered BOE flexibility to add monetary stimulus if needed.
On safe-haven currencies, NET LENGTH on CHF futures added +267 contracts to 4 924. NET LENGTH on JPY futures jumped +3 383 contracts to 26 026. On commodity currencies, NET SHORT for AUD futures slipped -734 contracts to 34 820. Speculative long positions dropped -585 contracts while declined -1 319 contracts. Separately, NET SHORT for NZD futures dipped -319 contracts to 14 259 during the week while NET SHORT for CAD futures added +131 contracts to 23 891.
CFTC Commitments of Traders – Bets on Lower British Pound Rose on Disappointing UK Data
