Dollar net short bets increase accelerated as Q2 GDP fell about 33 percent

US dollar bearish bets increase accelerated at more than double of prior week’s pace with total net shorts reaching $24.28 billion from $18.82 against the major currencies during the one week period, according to the report of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) covering data up to July 28 and released on Friday July 31. The increase in net short dollar bets resulted from decreases in bearish bets on Canadian and Australian dollar, and significant increase in bullish bets on Japanese yen and euro as German business sentiment continued recovery in July according to Ifo report. The bearish dollar bets rose again as Q2 US GDP contracted 32.9% over quarter in annualized terms due to the coronavirus outbreak and US Labor Department reported 1.42 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits, a rise of 109,000, while US manufacturing and services PMI’s rose less than forecast with manufacturing sector recording expansion for July.