UPDATE 1-Speculators boost net long USD bets to 5-week high -CFTC, Reuters

(Adds table, details, comment) By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Speculators raised their net long bets on the U.S. dollar in the latest week to a five-week high, according to calculations by Reuters and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The value of the net long dollar position was $18.36 billion in the week ended Nov. 19. The net long dollar position had stood at $15.70 billion last week. To be long a currency means traders believe it will rise in value, while being short points to a bearish bias. U.S. dollar positioning was derived from net contracts of International Monetary Market speculators in the Japanese yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Canadian and Australian dollars. In a wider measure of dollar positioning that includes net contracts on the New Zealand dollar, Mexican peso, Brazilian real and Russian ruble, the U.S. dollar posted a net long position valued at $17.01 billion, up from $14.32 billion a week earlier. The dollar has remained strong against major currencies in recent weeks even as its gains have been capped. On Friday, the greenback shook off early weakness to advance against a basket of currencies after data showed U.S. factory and services activity quickened in November in a sign of the continued resilience of the U.S. economy. The dollar index, which compares the dollar against six major currencies, was up 0.26% at 98.25, a one-week high. While the overall global growth picture has improved somewhat over the last few months and there is some optimism about the likelihood of a trade deal between the United States and China, neither of these factors have been enough to spur investors to shun the greenback in favor of riskier currencies. "The dollar is strong but not necessarily rallying," said Vassili Serebriakov, an FX strategist at UBS in New York. "I think the market's bias would be to sell the dollar but we need more confirmation in terms of global data and trade developments and that hasn't arrived," Serebriakov said. Mixed messages on the U.S.-China trade deal this week kept investors from taking on any large directional positions ahead of next week's Thanksgiving holiday. Japanese Yen (Contracts of 12,500,000 yen) $4.035 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 45,423 43,964 Short 80,454 78,961 Net -35,031 -34,997 EURO (Contracts of 125,000 euros) $8.655 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 163,898 170,250 Short 226,401 227,919 Net -62,503 -57,669 POUND STERLING (Contracts of 62,500 pounds sterling) $2.577 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 39,205 40,348 Short 71,108 68,481 Net -31,903 -28,133 SWISS FRANC (Contracts of 125,000 Swiss francs) $2.044 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 11,573 12,824 Short 27,765 27,944 Net -16,192 -15,120 CANADIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Canadian dollars) $-2.176 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 65,040 73,671 Short 36,175 31,298 Net 28,865 42,373 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Aussie dollars) $3.224 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 43,871 41,261 Short 91,111 82,070 Net -47,240 -40,809 MEXICAN PESO (Contracts of 500,000 pesos) $-3.616 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 213,938 219,312 Short 74,117 77,275 Net 139,821 142,037 NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 New Zealand dollars) $2.257 billion 19 Nov 2019 Prior week week Long 12,349 16,750 Short 47,448 52,985 Net -35,099 -36,235 (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; editing by Grant McCool and Rosalba O'Brien)