Shorts declining?

OK, just to start a new thread, because the Charts one has become a dumping ground.

Here's my take on the shorts position. As a caveat, I acknowledge that reading into signals is as accurate and useful as astrology.

– The percentage of shorts has been declining every day over the past week, while the volume of short sells has been going up. That means more shorters are selling and fewer accumulating. Over the past 10 sessions, there has been an average daily volume of 32% of shorts sold (that is, 32% of the total number of traded shares).
– Over the 10 sessions before that, there was an average daily volume of 14% short sells, while the percentage was increasing daily. That means more shorters were accumulating and fewer selling.

I see this as a positive development. To me, it means shorters are selling down their positions because they think it's better to get out now in case the August report is good and the share price goes up.

Of course, one week doesn't mean a trend. The total percentage is still disturbingly high. But the direction looks good if my thinking is right.