Hedge Funds Supercharge Aussie Shorts as RBA Splits With Fed
- Speculator bets against Aussie reach highest since November
- RBA patience on inflation contrasts with Fed plans to hike
Photographer: Sergio Dionisio/Bloomberg
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A dovish Reserve Bank of Australia is driving hedge funds to ramp up bets against the nation’s currency as the policy stance increasingly diverges from a hawkish Federal Reserve.
Leveraged funds have boosted net Australian dollar shorts to the most since November, according to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to Feb. 8. Futures and options speculators piled into positions to benefit from a weaker Aussie after RBA Governor Philip Lowe pledged to remain patient in assessing inflation even as peers in the U.S. and Europe made it clear they will respond to heated price growth.