Monday, October 6, 2014

"Hedge funds 'caught out' by crop price reversals"

These prices are very low. Corn 327'6 up 4'4 , wheat 492'2 up 6'4, soybeans 924'2 up 12'0
From Agrimoney:

Have hedge funds been caught out by being overbearish on agricultural commodities?
On cotton, as on wheat and soybeans, late-comers to making short positions appear to be sitting on losses.
The extent of hedge funds' negative sentiment towards cotton was unveiled by data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showing managed money, a proxy for speculators, undertaking a hefty sell-off in New York cotton futures and options in the last week of September.
Managed money turned net short £ meaning short holdings, which profit when values fall, exceed long bets, which benefit when prices gain £ by more than 8,000 contracts during the week - the most bearish positioning since November 2012.
'Frankly surprised'
The sell-down reflected the concerns for Chinese demand from international markets following the country's announcement that it was to limit its cotton import quota next year to 894,000 tonnes (4.1m bales), the minimum required by World Trade Organization commitments....MORE