The value of the net long dollar position was $2.22 billion in the week ended March 10, down sharply from $17.28 billion the previous week. US dollar positioning was derived from net contracts of International Monetary Market speculators in the Japanese yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian and Australian dollars.

In a wider measure of dollar positioning 0#NETUSDFX= that includes net contracts on the New Zealand dollar, Mexican peso, Brazilian real and Russian ruble, the US dollar posted a net long position of $471 million, way down from net longs of $14.876 billion the week before.

The dollar was pummelled by losses against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc, although it recovered on Friday against both currencies amid a slew of monetary policy actions to stem the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

This week net short positions on the yen and Swiss franc turned net longs, contributing to the decline in bullish bets on the greenback. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates next week by another 75 basis points, which should put further pressure on the dollar.

Copyright Reuters, 2020