As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended July 24, NET LENGTH in USD Index gained +1 796 contracts to 29 128. Speculative long positions gained +5 766 contracts while short positions added +3 970 contracts during the week.
Concerning European currencies, NET SHORT for EUR futures soared +7 653 contracts to 39 004. NET SHORT for GBP futures rose +2 226 contracts to 78 583. Speculative long positions dropped -3 255 contracts while speculative shorts slipped -1 029 contracts for the week. As widely expected, Boris Johnson becomes the new Prime Minister of the UK. He has about 3 months to deliver Brexit before the October 31 deadline. We expect him to face same challenge as his predecessor, Theresa May, as neither the Parliament nor the EU agree to compromise on the Irish backstop solution.
On safe-haven currencies, Net SHORT for CHF futures gained +1 461 contracts to 13 193. NET SHORT for JPY futures fell -2 003 contracts to 9 377 during the week. Speculative long positions gained +1 737 contracts while shorts slid -266 contracts.
On commodity currencies, NET SHORT for AUD futures dropped -4 596 contracts to 47 980. Speculative long positions decreased -2 343 contracts while shorts plunged -6 939 contracts. Separately, NET SHORT for NZD fell -5 094 contracts to 12 225 contracts last week. NET LENGTH for CAD futures surged +9 786 contracts to 30 750. Recent bullish sentiment about the loonie has been driven by policy divergence.
