Cocoa Drops as More Bears Pile In

Cocoa futures dropped sharply Monday after a report on the positioning of traders indicated to traders that the already bearish stance for the contract could continue to grow.

Cocoa for September was off 4.6% at $1,934 a ton on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange, dropping to its lowest level since May 26. Cocoa futures have seen volatile trade over the last month but haven't managed to break above $2,088 a ton since April 5.

"There just hasn't been a huge decrease in the number of net shorts in cocoa. That gives you an idea that it might move lower," said Peter Mooses, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago.

Cocoa has struggled to move higher amid an expected surplus of beans, along with sluggish growth in demand.

This month, the International Cocoa Organization raised its forecast for the 2016-17 season, indicating a surplus of 382,000 tons versus a previous estimate of 264,000 tons, as supplies of beans swell in Ivory Coast, the world's largest grower.

In other markets, raw sugar for October was up 0.3% at 13.67 cents a pound, arabica coffee for September rose 0.3% to $1.263 a pound, frozen concentrated orange juice for July was down 1.7% at $1.394 a pound and December cotton lost 0.8% at 68.82 cents a pound.

Write to Julie Wernau at julie.wernau@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2017 12:51 ET (16:51 GMT)