Speculators push long U.S. dollar position to largest since 2008-CFTC

San Francisco (Nov 7)  Speculators raised net long U.S. dollar positions in the latest week to the highest in at least six years, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

The value of the dollar's net long position increased to $44.38 billion in the week ended Nov. 4, from $42.39 billion the previous week. That was the largest net long position on the
greenback since 2008, when Reuters started computing dollar positioning 

It was the fifth straight week U.S. dollar longs have touched at least $40 billion, which is a show of confidence in the prospects for the U.S. economy and the dollar.

The current dollar positioning covered the day when the Federal Reserve ended its asset purchase program and acknowledged the U.S. economy's growing strength. That propelled
the dollar index further, which has gained 9.4 percent so far this year.

To be long, a currency is to take a view it will rise, while
being short is a bet its value will decline.
    Speculators further added to euro shorts, which totaled
179,021 contracts, from 165,707 the previous week. Net euro
short contracts were the largest since June 2012.
    The European Central Bank on Thursday affirmed its
commitment to stimulate a sluggish euro zone economy, saying its
asset buying plan would have a significant impact on the bank's
balance sheet. The ECB's comments further fueled a sell-off in
the euro.
    The Reuters calculation for the aggregate U.S. dollar
position is derived from net positions of speculators in the
yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian and
Australian dollars.

Source:  Reuters