The value of currency speculators' bets against the US dollar rose to its highest level since October, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday, the fourth straight weekly increase. The value of the dollar's net short position rose to $26.3 billion in the week ended February 8, up from $24.9 billion in the prior week, according to CFTC and Reuters calculations.
That was the biggest since it swelled to $30.5 billion in the week ended October 5. Speculators increased bets in favour of the Australian dollar to the most since April 2010. Speculators' long euro position were trimmed slightly but remained elevated. A short position is a bet a currency will decline in value, while a long position bets it will appreciate. The Reuters calculation for the aggregate US dollar position is derived from the net positions of International Monetary Market speculators in the yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar.