Dec 31 (Reuters) - Speculative dollar long positions have continued to grow, highlighting expectations that the greenback looks set for even bigger gains in January and beyond.

The speculative long position - derived from net contracts of International Monetary Market speculators in the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc, Canadian and Australian dollars - has risen to its highest level since April. For the week ending Dec. 24, the value of net positions held by speculators climbed to $27.70 billion long from $26.11 billion a week earlier.

That shows the market expectations have grown for further dollar gains in January, which is something the greenback usually does. The USD index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, shows it has risen in 15 of the past 25 years.

The USD index 14-week momentum reading remains positive. There is scope for an eventual probe of the major 108.962 Fibo, a 61.8% retrace of the 114.78 to 99.549 (2022 to 2023) drop. Once the 108.962 Fibo is taken out, that would unmask the 110.00 psychological level.

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(Martin Miller is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((martin.miller@thomsonreuters.com))