Bloomberg- Coffee rebounded to close at the highest price in eight years on demand for commodities by index and hedge funds.
Hedge funds and other speculators increased net-long positions, or bets prices will rise, by 187 contracts to 40,263 contracts in the week ended Jan. 29 on ICE Futures U.S., government data showed on Feb. 1. Long positions held by index funds climbed 5.9 percent to 65,011 contracts. Corn, soybean and wheat prices surged to records, and metals climbed.
“Support is coming from index funds and managed money funds,” said Raymond Keane, a coffee trader at Balzac Bros. & Co. in Charleston, South Carolina.
Coffee futures for March delivery rose 0.55 cent, or 0.4 percent, to $1.4315 a pound on ICE Futures, formerly known as the New York Board of Trade. That marked the highest settlement price since December 1999. Futures earlier dropped as much as 1.3 percent. The highest intraday price in eight years was $1.445 on Feb. 4.
