Positive bets on the US dollar were little changed 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 was $40.85 billion in the week ended March 3, from $40.81 billion the previous week. Net dollar longs edged higher after three straight weeks of declines. This was the 10th consecutive week that dollar longs have hit at least $40 billion.
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 Market speculators in the yen, euro, sterling, Swiss franc, Canadian and Australian dollars. Net euro short contracts, meanwhile, continued to fall to notching 172,389 contracts, from 177,736 previously. This week's euro net shorts were the smallest since mid-January, contracting for a fourth straight week.