By Oliver Biggadike and Ben Levisohn Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Futures traders placed the biggest bets on record that the euro will fall against the dollar on concern Greece’s credit ratings will be reduced. The number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators for a decline in the 16-nation currency rose on Feb. 23 to 71,623 contracts more than those anticipating a gain, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. It was the fourth consecutive week that the amount climbed to a record. Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service said this week that they may lower Greece’s ratings if the nation is unable to lower its deficit to within the guidelines of the European Union. The 16-nation currency posted its first weekly gain against the greenback, snapping six weeks of decline, after a report today said Germany may consider buying Greek bonds through a state-owned lender. “This Greece issue will continue to drag,” said Sacha Tihanyi, a currency strategist in Toronto at Bank of Nova Scotia, the nation’s third-largest bank. “We don’t see a heck of a lot of reasons on the economic front to like the euro.” The euro fell 1.9 percent to $1.3507 in the five trading days ended Feb. 23. It’s climbed for the past three days, the longest rally this year, advancing 0.9 percent to $1.3631. Each Friday the CFTC publishes aggregate numbers for long and short positions for speculators such as hedge funds and institutional investors that buy or sell futures to protect against price moves. Analysts and investors follow changes in speculators’ positions because such transactions can reflect an expectation of a change in prices. Futures are agreements to buy or sell assets at a set price and date. To contact the reporters on this story: Oliver Biggadike in New York at obiggadike@bloomberg.net; Ben Levisohn in New York at blevisohn@bloomberg.net.

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