Novel coronavirus has shown no signs of abating. The latest statistics indicate that the number of confirmed cases has increased to above 30 000 and casualty to over 800 in China. The epidemic has affected at least 28 countries in the world. Against this backdrop, safe-haven currencies outperformed risky ones. As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended February 4. NET LENGTH in USD Index added +700 contracts to 17 133. Speculative long positions gained +1 648 contracts and short positions climbed +948 contracts. Concerning European currencies, NET SHORT for EUR futures soared +16 218 contracts to 75 080. NET LENGTH for GBP futures declined -4 702 contracts to 12 987.
On safe-haven currencies, NET LENGTH of CHF futures added +1 422 contracts to 4 919. NET SHORT of JPY futures declined -14 127 contracts to 21 898. On commodity currencies, NET SHORT for AUD futures rose +15 777 contracts to 43 297. Speculative long positions added +3 706 contracts while shorts jumped +19 483 contracts. Separately, NZD futures drifted to NET SHORT of 2 192 contracts during the week while NET LENGTH for CAD futures plunged -16 027 contracts to 18 563.
