Currency speculators increased their bets in favour of the US dollar in the latest week and boosted their short euro position to record levels, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday. The value of the dollar's net long position rose to $17.43 billion in the week ended January 10, from $15.71 billion in the previous week.
Euro shorts rose to a record 155,195 contracts. To be short a currency is to bet it will decline in value, while being long is a view its value will rise. The Reuters calculation for the aggregate US dollar position is derived from net positions of International Monetary Market speculators in the yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc, Canadian and Australian dollars.