Currency speculators in the latest week increased bets in favour of the US dollar and boosted bets against the yen, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday. The value of the dollar's net long position rose to $19.27 billion in the week ended March 6 from $12.98 billion the previous week. To be long a currency is to bet it will rise in value, while being short is a view its value will decline.
As US data has recently painted a brighter view of the world's biggest economy, the greenback has strengthened against a range of currencies. In contrast, the yen has declined after the Bank of Japan boosted its asset-buying program in mid-February.