Hedge funds cut the their bets on rising US interest rates while upping their bearish bets agains the US dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, according to a report by Reuters.

The report cites Commodity Futures Trading Commission data as showing that speculators now hold the largest net short dollar position since July last yea and the smallest net short position in three-month 'SOFR' rate futures since April.

The CFTC data relates to the the week ending 13 December, just prior to the Fed's announcement of a 50 basis points rate rise with Chair Jerome Powell also indicating that more rates will stay higher for longer than originally anticipated in a bed to reduce inflation.