Bets against the euro surged to a fresh record high in the latest week, while net long US dollar positions rose, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday. Net euro shorts totalled 214,418 contracts, from net shorts of 203,415 the previous week, the data showed.
To be short a currency is to bet it will decline in value, while being long is a view its value will rise. The value of the dollar's net long position as a result rose further to $39.65 billion in the week ended June 5, from $37.5l billion the previous week. 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.
Other notable changes this week included the change in net positioning on the yen to a net long of 12,073 contracts from the previous week's net short of 11,330. That reflected a move toward the yen's safety as euro zone risks worsened. Also, net shorts on the Australian dollar rose further to 51,172 from the previous week's net short contracts of 35,527. Australia's central bank last Tuesday cut its main cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent, its lowest in over two years, dimming the Aussie dollar's yield appeal.