Large currency speculators increased their net short position in Pound futures from a three-month low, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The non-commercial futures contracts of Pound futures, traded by large speculators and hedge funds, totaled a net short position of 64,307 contracts in the data reported through May 19, 2026. This represents a weekly addition of 21,248 net short contracts, marking a significant shift from the previous three-month low and indicating renewed bearish sentiment among institutional traders toward the Pound in the futures market.
The latest COT data reveals that Pound speculators are currently in Bearish-Extreme territory with a strength score of 12.3 percent, according to InvestMacro's analysis. This represents a significant decline from the previous week's score of 21.3 percent, indicating that bearish sentiment has intensified among large speculators. The Commercials are positioned in Bullish-Extreme territory with a score of 87.0 percent, creating a stark contrast in positioning between different market participants. The Small Traders are also bearish with a score of 41.8 percent, suggesting broad-based negative sentiment across all trader categories.
The position increase represents a weekly addition of 21,248 net short contracts, marking a significant shift from the previous three-month low. This substantial weekly increase indicates renewed bearish sentiment among institutional traders toward the Pound in the futures market. The data shows that the Pound has now fallen for three out of the past four weeks, with this week's decline of over 21,000 contracts pushing the overall net speculator position to the most bearish level in nine weeks.
The Pound's performance is part of a broader trend across currency markets, where speculator positions were overall lower this week as just three out of eleven currency markets had higher positioning. According to InvestMacro's analysis, the Australian Dollar continues to show strength with speculators raising bets for the fourth consecutive week, while the US Dollar Index dropped to a bearish position for the first time since March 10th. The Pound's weakness has been accompanied by declines in the Japanese Yen (-18,803 contracts) and Canadian Dollar (-14,989 contracts), reflecting broader currency market volatility and shifting speculative positioning across major currencies.
