(Adds data, quote, table)
By Dion Rabouin
Oct 6 (Reuters) - Speculators cut their bearish bets on the
U.S. dollar from the previous week, which showed the highest
level in net-short contracts in five years, but held their
negative bias for the U.S. currency.
The value of the dollar's net short position was $16.83
billion in the week ended Oct. 3, leaving investors net short on
the greenback for the 12th straight week, according to data from
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released Friday.
Net short bets on the dollar had grown to $17.36 billion for
the week ended Sept. 26, the highest since late September 2012.
In a wider measure of dollar positioning that
includes net contracts on the New Zealand dollar, Mexican peso,
Brazilian real and Russian ruble, the U.S. dollar posted a net
short position valued at $21.01 billion, down slightly from
$21.13 billion a week earlier.
The dollar had its best week of the year against a gauge of
six rival currencies last week after more hawkish signals
from the Federal Reserve during its monetary policy meeting,
which raised prospects for an increase of U.S. interest rates by
year-end.
A larger move could come next week in Europe as Spain
wrestles with an independence vote from Catalonia. Carles
Puigdemont, Catalonia’s separatist leader, is set to appear
before lawmakers on Tuesday.
"Although it’s calmed down in the past day or two, the big
event that’s going on right now is put on hold until debate
(next week)," said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at
WorldWide Markets in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
"The currency markets are telling you that they’re not going
to (secede). If everyone was convinced they were going to do it,
euro would be at $1.12."
The euro closed Tuesday at $1.1742 and was last at $1.1731
on Friday.
The Reuters calculation for the aggregate U.S. dollar
position is derived from net positions of International Monetary
speculators in the yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and
Canadian and Australian dollars.
Japanese Yen (Contracts of 12,500,000 yen)
$7.947 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 58,770 42,963
Short 143,413 114,310
Net -84,643 -71,347
EURO (Contracts of 125,000 euros)
$-12.995 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 187,053 183,679
Short 96,220 95,512
Net 90,833 88,167
POUND STERLING (Contracts of 62,500 pounds sterling)
$-0.425 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 80,325 80,145
Short 60,376 75,091
Net 19,949 5,054
SWISS FRANC (Contracts of 125,000 Swiss francs)
$0.24 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 17,614 14,926
Short 20,907 16,788
Net -3,293 -1,862
CANADIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Canadian dollars)
$-6.043 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 97,204 102,688
Short 22,076 28,083
Net 75,128 74,605
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Aussie dollars)
$-6.088 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 98,499 103,507
Short 26,687 26,313
Net 71,812 77,194
MEXICAN PESO (Contracts of 500,000 pesos)
$-2.332 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 117,452 134,621
Short 28,336 50,894
Net 89,116 83,727
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 New Zealand dollars)
$-0.58 billion
03 Oct 2017 Prior week
week
Long 20,928 22,369
Short 12,810 14,316
Net 8,118 8,053
(Reporting by Dion Rabouin in New York; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)