CFTC Commitments of Traders – NET SHORT of GBP Futures Jumped as Concerns about Brexit Talks Reemerged

As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended May 19, NET LENGTH in USD Index added +847 contracts to 17 297. Speculative long positions gained +559 contracts and short positions were down -288 contracts. Concerning European currencies, NET LENGTH in EUR futures declined -5 578 contracts to 72 562. NET SHORT for GBP futures soared +5 301 contracts to 18 989 for the week. Besides coronavirus pandemic, the market was concerned about trade talk between UK and EU. Meanwhile, BOE did not rule out the prospect of negative interest rate, adding further pressure to sterling.

On safe-haven currencies, NET LENGTH on CHF futures gained +2 080 contracts to 8 728. NET LENGTH on JPY futures slipped -467 contracts to 27 470. On commodity currencies, NET SHORT for AUD futures jumped +4 133 contracts to 39 558. Speculative long positions added +1 582  contracts while shorts gained +5 715 contracts. Separately, NET SHORT for NZD futures slipped -11 contracts to 15 867 during the week while NET SHORT for CAD futures increased +2 810 contracts to 35 056.