That is the number of gross shorts. Net shorts are a week behind...

That is the number of gross shorts. Net shorts are a week behind and actually relatively flat last week (up until Thur where the data is) despite the fact 30-40% of trades were sold short each day. This tells us an equal amount were closed. i.e someone is using shorts to cap the price while also buying a stack (my theory) or alternatively a couple big players have very different views and someone is closing a heap of shorts while someone else opens new ones. Friday might be a bit of a different story though.