CFTC: USD longs added to overall long position - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ offered the positioning data for the CFTC that is for the week ending 1 November 2016.

Key Quotes:

• "The CFTC data captured the market’s initial reaction to the tightening in the US presidential election race following the surprise FBI letter regarding Hillary Clinton’s emails. Though the USD was sold off, leveraged funds actually added to their overall long USD position by USD1.7bn to USD24.9bn, the highest since the first week of January 2016. The next CFTC cut-off date is on Election Day itself, but will not capture the reaction to the result.
• The net USD buying was predominantly against EUR. Overall net short EUR positions rose by USD1.9bn to USD22.5bn, the highest since March 2015. This is the fifth consecutive week of EUR selling. JPY and CHF saw very little change in their positioning, despite a rally in both currencies.
• GBP positioning was steady in the week, but overall short positioning remains at near record highs. The rally in sterling post the CFTC cut-off date, on the back of the high court ruling that Brexit needs lawmakers’ consent, and a more hawkish BoE, suggests a reasonable paring back of short positions.
• Commodity currencies were a mixed bag. CAD saw net selling of USD0.3bn, increasing its overall net short position to USD1.3bn. Meanwhile, AUD and NZD saw net buying of USD0.4bn and USD0.1bn respectively.
• Overall short MXN positions were reduced for the fourth straight week by USD0.2bn to USD1.2bn, the lowest since June 2016. It is likely that the positioning data has yet to fully reflect the recent developments in the US election contest.
• Net long oil positioning was cut by 44.5k contracts on news that OPEC has struggled to agree to the allocations of the production cuts agreed to earlier. Overall positioning remains high. Long positions in gold are being rebuilt following sharp reductions over the past couple of months."