FX Positioning: USD longs rose again before Jackson Hole – MENAFN.COM

FX Positioning: USD longs rose again before Jackson Hole – MENAFN.COM

CFTC positioning data to 24 August shows how the dollar moved into a net-long position (+6% of open interest vs G10), after most of the short positions were trimmed on the back of worsening global risk sentiment and rising expectations about the Federal Reserve's policy normalisation over the summer. The table below provides a snapshot of G10 positioning three days before Fed Chair Powell's speech at Jackson Hole on 27 August. All currencies except for the Swiss franc had either a neutral or a net-short position against the dollar. All currencies except for Canada's dollar saw a contraction in net positioning in the week ending 24 August. EUR/USD saw the largest drop in net positioning in two years, with the gauge dropping to 4% of open interest and reconverging with its five-year average after having been consistently above average in the previous months. An even larger drop in positioning (worth 11% of open interest) was recorded in sterling, although wide weekly fluctuations in positioning are more common in GBP than EUR. Indeed, sterling had come under pressure in the week ending 24 August, but currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars recorded bigger losses, so such a sharp