Funds’ bullish soybean bets finally match last year

High demand: A worker inspects soybeans during harvest near the town of Campos Lindos in Brazil. Soy futures have risen nearly 9% in the past week. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: Speculators’ energy for soybeans was critically lacking following the United States harvest, but dwindling supplies in South America have rapidly restored their enthusiasm to the impressive year-ago levels.

In the week ended Feb 1, money managers added nearly 40,000 Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures and options contracts to their net long, which reached 154,488 contracts according to data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.