6 Jan 2015
Leveraged funds increased net long USD to a new record high - ANZ
FXStreet (Bali) - The positioning data for the week ending 30 December 2014, delayed due to a public holiday in the US, saw leveraged funds increased their overall net long USD positioning to a new record high at USD 36.8bn, notes ANZ.
Key Quotes
"Leveraged funds increased their overall net long USD positioning by USD1.9bn to register a new record high at USD 36.8bn. This week’s increase in USD positioning was driven by selling of other major currencies across the board, except for the NZD."
"Post the cut-off date, net buying of USD was likely to have continued given the price action in the DXY ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes on 7 January 2015 and the potential monetary easing by the ECB."
"The biggest contributor for the week was net selling in JPY. Net short positioning in JPY increased to USD8.9bn from USD8.2bn. Net selling in JPY had been registered for the last 3 weeks since the big election win by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition on 14 December, signalling then that Abenomics is here to stay."
"Net selling in the EUR continued for the third week, plagued by QE concerns as well as the Greek politics. Net short positioning came in at USD19.1bn from USD18.7bn previously. While EUR/USD continues to register new lows (breaking below 1.19 at one point), it is worth noting that net short positioning is still a considerable distance from its historical shorts in June 2012."
"Net selling in GBP continued for the second week, likely plagued by Euro concerns, raising doubts on possibility of the commencement of rate hikes for BOE in 2015. Net short positioning came in at USD0.7bn from USD0.4bn previously."
"Similarly, commodity currencies saw small net selling of USD0.2bn, with the exception of NZD, which saw a very small amount of net buying."
Key Quotes
"Leveraged funds increased their overall net long USD positioning by USD1.9bn to register a new record high at USD 36.8bn. This week’s increase in USD positioning was driven by selling of other major currencies across the board, except for the NZD."
"Post the cut-off date, net buying of USD was likely to have continued given the price action in the DXY ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes on 7 January 2015 and the potential monetary easing by the ECB."
"The biggest contributor for the week was net selling in JPY. Net short positioning in JPY increased to USD8.9bn from USD8.2bn. Net selling in JPY had been registered for the last 3 weeks since the big election win by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition on 14 December, signalling then that Abenomics is here to stay."
"Net selling in the EUR continued for the third week, plagued by QE concerns as well as the Greek politics. Net short positioning came in at USD19.1bn from USD18.7bn previously. While EUR/USD continues to register new lows (breaking below 1.19 at one point), it is worth noting that net short positioning is still a considerable distance from its historical shorts in June 2012."
"Net selling in GBP continued for the second week, likely plagued by Euro concerns, raising doubts on possibility of the commencement of rate hikes for BOE in 2015. Net short positioning came in at USD0.7bn from USD0.4bn previously."
"Similarly, commodity currencies saw small net selling of USD0.2bn, with the exception of NZD, which saw a very small amount of net buying."