Currency speculators increased their bets in favour of the US dollar in the latest week, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday. The value of the dollar's net long position rose to $24.58 billion in the week ended July 10, from $23.58 billion in the previous week.
Speculators boosted bets against the euro, with short positions of 165,705 contracts, the highest in a month. The euro has come under heavy pressure in recent sessions, making new daily lows for nine days in a row after the European Central Bank cut rates last week and as concern about global growth mounted.
Speculators more than doubled bets in favour of the Australian dollar, to 19,065 contracts, the highest since early May, compared with 9,348 a week earlier.
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.
To be short a currency is to bet it will decline in value, while being long is a view its value will rise.