Money Managers’ Bullish Bets in Cocoa Fall to 11-Month Low

(Businessweek) – Money managers cut bets on rising prices of cocoa traded in London to the lowest in more than 11 months in the week ended Feb. 19, according to data from NYSE Liffe, the derivatives arm of NYSE Euronext.

Investors were net-long, or betting on higher prices, by 9,431 futures and options, the commitments of traders report published today on the exchange’s website showed. That’s the smallest net-long position since March 6 and compares with a net-long of 12,895 lots a week earlier. The commodity used to make chocolate fell 0.9 percent in the period.

In robusta coffee, money managers boosted bets on higher prices to a six-month high, the data showed. Net-long positions totaled 29,379 futures and options, up from 27,783 contracts a week earlier and the highest since Aug. 14, exchange data on Bloomberg showed. The beans slid 1.3 percent in the period.

Money managers’ bets on lower sugar prices increased 6.1 percent, according to exchange data. Net-short positions were a record 11,564 futures and options from 10,899 contracts a week earlier. Sugar gained 0.5 percent in the period.

In feed wheat, money managers increased their net-short position to 315 futures and options from 288 contracts a week earlier. The grain rose 1.9 percent in the period.