Speculators hiked their net short position in raw sugar on ICE Futures US in the week to August 27 to its highest in nearly three months, US government data showed on Friday.
Speculators increased their net short position in cocoa to its largest since April, reduced their bearish stance on arabica coffee, and increased their net short position on cotton futures and options, the data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. In raw sugar, speculators boosted their bearish stance by 18,292 contracts to 192,195 contracts. This was the fourth straight week that they increased their bearish bet, and their stance was close to the 2019 high of 195,461 net shorts reached in early June.
Sugar prices have been pressured of late, hovering around 11-month lows, on fears India will dramatically increase the amount of sugar it ships internationally thanks to new export incentives approved by the country's cabinet. Speculators increased their net short position in cocoa by 3,934 lots to 32,971 lots. In arabica coffee, speculators reduced their net short position by 1,449 lots to 46,149 lots.
Speculators increased their net short position in cotton by 1,980 contracts to 49,563 contracts, as the trade war between the Untied States, the biggest cotton producer, and China, the biggest cotton consumer, continues.