Hedge fund short positions in US-listed ETFs spiked +10% on Thursday, the 2nd-largest one-day increase on RECORD.

The only bigger spike came during the April 2025 SELLOFF, when shorts surged +16%.

That move pushed US-listed ETF shorts up +12% this week, following a +8% rise last week.

As a result, short exposure has risen +23% over the last month.

Overall, hedge fund shorts in US macro products, including index futures and ETFs, have risen to 11.5% of total US exposure, near the highest since 2021.

Is this a short-squeeze setup?