Quarterly Outlook
Macro Outlook: The US rate cut cycle has begun
Peter Garnry
Chief Investment Strategist
Head of Commodity Strategy
Summary: Buoyed by hopes about a "phase one" trade deal speculators bought dollars for the first time in three weeks while the record short in VIX continued to expand
Saxo Bank publishes two weekly Commitment of Traders reports (COT) covering leveraged fund positions in bonds and stock index futures. For IMM currency futures and the VIX, we use the broader measure called non-commercial.
Speculators rebuild net long positions on the Greenback following three weeks of selling. The dollar long against ten IMM currency futures rose by $2.2 billion to $14.4 billion. Small buying of EUR, GBP and NZD were more than off-set by selling of JPY, CAD and AUD
The small reduction in GBP net shorts took the position to the least bearish since May. Speculators in the EUR meanwhile maintained a net short close to 58,000 lots (1 lot = €1250,000), a level around which the position has swung for the past four months. Despite showing signs of bottoming out the JPY short nevertheless expanded for a ninth consecutive week to the most elevated since June.