U.S. Treasury 10-year futures' net shorts smallest since October - CFTC

NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Speculators' bearish bets on U.S. Treasury 10-year note futures were trimmed to their lowest level since October in the latest week, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.

Net shorts on U.S. 10-year note futures went down to 85,972 contracts in the week ending May 10, from 147,537 contracts a week earlier, CFTC data showed.

Net shorts were also trimmed in the shorter part of the U.S. government debt curve, to a smaller extent.

The amount of speculators' bearish, or short, positions in two-year Treasury futures exceeded bullish, or long, positions by 126,829 contracts against 129,171 in the prior week.

Net shorts on U.S. 5-year note futures, however, increased marginally, to 325,674 from 318,936 a week earlier.

U.S. Treasuries have been hammered this year as investors sold the paper amid concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans to tighten monetary policy to fight unrelenting inflation.

Ten-year government notes - a benchmark for mortgage rates and other financial instruments - hit a fresh high of 3.2% this week, a level last seen in November 2018, but they rallied significantly in the following days as investors sought safety while stocks plunged.

Further out in the curve, speculators were bullish on U.S. T-bond futures, with net long 15,453 contracts in the week ending May 10, up from 13,511 a week earlier.

Below is a table of the speculative positions in Treasury futures on the Chicago Board of Trade and in Eurodollar futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in the latest week:

U.S. 2-year T-notes (Contracts of $200,000)

10 May 2022       Prior week
week 
Long         275,153        301,359 
Short        401,982        430,530 
Net         -126,829       -129,171 
 
U.S. 5-year T-notes (Contracts of $100,000) 
10 May 2022       Prior week 
week 
Long         291,527        293,082 
Short        617,201        612,018 
Net         -325,674       -318,936 
 
U.S. 10-year T-notes (Contracts of $100,000) 
10 May 2022       Prior week 
week 
Long         406,123        391,455 
Short        492,095        538,992 
Net          -85,972       -147,537 
 
U.S. T-bonds (Contracts of $100,000) 
10 May 2022       Prior week 
week 
Long         131,916        130,124 
Short        116,463        116,613 
Net           15,453         13,511 
 
U.S. Ultra T-bonds (Contracts of $100,000) 
10 May 2022       Prior week 
week 
Long          45,084         43,517 
Short        356,597        362,696 
Net         -311,513       -319,179 
Eurodollar (Contracts of $1,000,000) 
10 May 2022       Prior week 
week 
Long         356,101        357,697 
Short      2,956,688      3,045,805
Net       -2,600,587     -2,688,108 Fed funds (Contracts of $1,000,000) 
10 May 2022       Prior week 
week 
Long         103,238         24,608 
Short         54,076         79,861 
Net           49,162        -55,253