Speculators boosted their net short position in arabica coffee on ICE Futures US in the week ended September 1, while they trimmed their bearish bets in raw sugar contracts, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The noncommercial dealers raised their net long position in cocoa and cut their bullish bets in cotton futures and options, the data showed.
The dealers boosted their arabica coffee net short by 4,871 contracts to 24,718 contracts, the largest since the week ended July 28, as prices approached more than 1-1/2 year lows. They trimmed their sugar bearish bets for the first time in seven weeks, shedding 27,273 lots for a net short of 60,832, the lowest level since week ended July 21, as prices continued to rebound off more than seven-year lows.
The speculators raised their cocoa net long for first time in six weeks, adding 2,761 contracts for a bullish bet of 28,802 contracts, as prices remained range-bound. The dealers cut their cotton bullish bet for the first time in three weeks, shedding 12,197 lots for a net long of 32,184 lots, as prices fell to near three-week lows.