The value of the net long dollar position was $17.80 billion in the week ended Oct. 1. The net long dollar position had stood at $17.37 billion last week. To be long a currency means traders believe it will rise in value, while being short points to a bearish bias. US dollar positioning was derived from net contracts of International Monetary Market speculators in the Japanese yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian and Australian dollars.
In a wider measure of dollar positioning that includes net contracts on the New Zealand dollar, Mexican peso, Brazilian real and Russian ruble, the greenback posted a net long position of $17.49 billion in the week ended Oct. 1, compared with $17.37 billion the previous week.
While the dollar has been in favour for many months now thanks to its relatively high interest rate and a strong economy, the ongoing trade war with China and a scramble for funding in US money markets has added fuel to the fire in recent weeks. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of other currencies, hit a more than 2-year high earlier this week.