Leveraged funds’ GBP long positioning rises to post-Brexit high – Nomura

According to the CFTC data for the week ended 16 January, leveraged funds increased GBP net longs from 30% to 39%, the highest level since the EU referendum, notes the research team at Nomura. On the other hand, asset managers’ net short position in GBP was reduced from 40% to 33%, they further note.

Key Quotes

“EUR: Leveraged funds’ net long positioning in EUR fell to 19% from a one-year high 26%. Asset managers also remained long EUR, with the current level (39%) broadly in line with the six-month average.”

“JPY: Leveraged funds’ net short JPY positioning fell from 52% to 48%. The one-year high is 64%, recorded in July 2017. In contrast, asset managers turned long JPY for the first time since May 2015.”

“AUD & CAD: Leveraged funds increased AUD net longs from 17% to 24%. The oneyear high is 80%, recorded in September 2017. Leveraged funds’ long positioning in CAD rose to 20% from 10%; the last-year high was 71% in October 2017.”

“USD: Our BIS volume-weighted proxy shows that leveraged funds maintained a net short USD (-2%) position for two weeks.”