Long GBP positioning is quite extreme – ING

The Bank of England’s broad, trade-weighted sterling index is on its highs of the year, ING’s FX strategist Chris Turner notes.

BoE’s easing cycle to be repriced closer to that of the Fed

“We are all waiting for a catalyst for the BoE’s easing cycle to be repriced closer to that of the Fed – but no such catalyst has been forthcoming. That seems unlikely again today, where the flash UK PMIs for September are expected to continue outshining those in the eurozone.”

“There is a sense that long GBP positioning is quite extreme. Yet the latest CFTC data published last Friday and covering activity to last Tuesday (17 September) actually showed quite a large reduction in GBP longs from the speculative community. In short, the speculative market is nowhere near as long GBP/USD as it was long USD/JPY in early July.”