Yen Shorts Soar as Oil Prices Rebound

The latest CFTC report shows that speculative positioning became more defensive in the week ending September 1. This shift was most pronounced in the Yen, where short positions increased by around 28.9K contracts to 92.2K. The Japanese currency's weakness was confirmed by a decent gain in USD/JPY.

In contrast, Oil buying returned alongside stronger prices, with non-commercial net longs in WTI increasing by around 6.5K contracts to 129.9K. This move was mirrored by a nearly 10% increase in the barrel's price over the reporting period.

The Canadian Dollar saw its net shorts narrow by around 13.4K contracts to 108.1K, with gross long positions remaining unchanged and gross shorts falling by 13.4K. However, despite this positioning improvement, USD/CAD rose modestly, indicating a modestly weaker CAD.

The Gold market saw its net longs fall by around 15.2K contracts to 228.1K, the largest weekly decline since early February. This reduction in exposure eased the spot price's decline and brought it back near the 96th percentile.