Speculators trim dollar longs to lowest since late October

Speculators further pared their net long US dollar position in the latest week to the smallest in roughly six weeks, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. The value of the dollar's net long position slid by more than $5 billion to $42.19 billion in the week ended December 9, from $47.38 billion the previous week. This was the smallest net long position on the greenback since late October.
That said, this was the 10th straight week that US dollar longs have touched at least $40 billion, which suggest continued positive sentiment on the US currency. This week also saw a sharp pullback from a strong dollar rally the last several months, and reflected investors consolidating gains going into the last two weeks of the year. The dollar index closed this week on a negative note, posting its largest weekly loss in eight months. To be long a currency is to take a view it will rise, while being short is a bet its value will decline. The Reuters calculation for the aggregate US dollar position is derived from net positions of international monetary speculators in the yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian and Australian dollars.