Traders go long on dollar for first time since July

For the first time since July, currency traders are long on the US dollar. According to ANZ, citing data released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), net speculative long positioning stood at $5 billion last week, a stark turnaround from the $1 billion short position held in the previous week.

Net speculative positioning, defined as non-commercial positions reported by the CFTC, is the sum of long and short options and futures positions in a particular asset, in this case the US dollar.

A net long position indicates that traders, collectively, are looking for strength in the period ahead. While this only captures positioning reported by CFTC, it can be used to extrapolate broader views held by currency traders. On that front, traders are becoming more optimistic about the greenback's prospects, buying for a fifth consecutive week, leaving net positioning long for the first time since late July.

According to strategists at ANZ, dollar buying occurred against all major currencies last week.