Speculative investors decreased their bets that the euro will decline against the dollar as of Feb. 7, wagering a net $23.3 billion against the common currency, down 10% from the prior week, government data showed Friday.
As the euro zone's political leaders continued to debate a bailout for Greece's fiscally-troubled government, speculators held a net 140,593 contracts betting against the euro, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly report on the commitments of traders. These traders, who do business on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, form a small slice of the overall currencies market, but their flows are seen widely as representative of hedge fund flows as a whole.
"Overwhelmingly, market participants are still negative in their outlook for the currency," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
Traders were one-third less likely to bet in favor of the dollar this week. Speculators held a net $8.7 billion in dollar positions, down 33% from the previous week.
The market largely maintained its view on the yen, holding a net $9 billion in bets that the yen will appreciate against the dollar. That was down 4% to 55,171 net contracts.
For the Swiss franc, traders pulled back on their net position betting against the currency by 12%. The market held a net $1.3 billion in bets against the franc, or 9,795 contracts.
Traders switched their view on the Canadian dollar. The market is now betting that the Canadian dollar will appreciate, with a net $219 million wagered.
The U.K. pound saw the market's net bets against it grow by 27%. Traders also increased by 59% their net gambles that the New Zealand dollar will rise.
Speculators mainly held steady on the Australian dollar's prospects, with their net bets in favor of the currency up 2%.
The total amount of contracts speculators held on the CME stayed steady compared to the previous week.
The CFTC's weekly report shows speculative investors' positions in major currencies held against the dollar. It viewed the markets as of Tuesday.
As the euro zone's political leaders continued to debate a bailout for Greece's fiscally-troubled government, speculators held a net 140,593 contracts betting against the euro, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly report on the commitments of traders. These traders, who do business on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, form a small slice of the overall currencies market, but their flows are seen widely as representative of hedge fund flows as a whole.
"Overwhelmingly, market participants are still negative in their outlook for the currency," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
Traders were one-third less likely to bet in favor of the dollar this week. Speculators held a net $8.7 billion in dollar positions, down 33% from the previous week.
The market largely maintained its view on the yen, holding a net $9 billion in bets that the yen will appreciate against the dollar. That was down 4% to 55,171 net contracts.
For the Swiss franc, traders pulled back on their net position betting against the currency by 12%. The market held a net $1.3 billion in bets against the franc, or 9,795 contracts.
Traders switched their view on the Canadian dollar. The market is now betting that the Canadian dollar will appreciate, with a net $219 million wagered.
The U.K. pound saw the market's net bets against it grow by 27%. Traders also increased by 59% their net gambles that the New Zealand dollar will rise.
Speculators mainly held steady on the Australian dollar's prospects, with their net bets in favor of the currency up 2%.
The total amount of contracts speculators held on the CME stayed steady compared to the previous week.
The CFTC's weekly report shows speculative investors' positions in major currencies held against the dollar. It viewed the markets as of Tuesday.
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