Ag Futures: "Funds on brink of becoming bona-fide wheat bulls"

Following up on "Ag Futures: 'Weather, Funds help Grain Futures Jump into July'".
From Reuters:

(Repeats for wider distribution. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a market analyst for Reuters.)

* Funds, Chicago wheat: reut.rs/2sZTGhz

* Funds, K.C. wheat: reut.rs/2u7RyTH

* Funds, Minneapolis wheat: reut.rs/2sZTBuA

.........

By Karen Braun

CHICAGO, July 3 (Reuters) - Funds have nearly washed away their bearish Chicago wheat bets and are likely entering July as bulls. If true, this would mark specs’ first net long in the soft red wheat market in nearly two years. 

In the week ended June 27, hedge funds and other money managers cut their net short in CBOT wheat futures and options to 10,158 contracts from 20,971 in the week prior, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (reut.rs/2sZTGhz). 

Profit-taking following the previous week’s massive round of short covering prevented speculators from further trimming the Chicago wheat position early in the week, but explosiveness in Minneapolis spring wheat futures on June 27 pulled other wheat contracts up with it, and they have been on their way up ever since. 

In K.C. wheat futures and options, money managers are ending June on the most bullish note ever. They extended their net long in the week ended June 27 to 44,240 contracts from 37,701 in the previous week, and the new stance is funds’ most bullish on the hard red wheat since April 1, 2014 (reut.rs/2u7RyTH). 

Funds also upped bullish bets in Minneapolis spring wheat futures and options, increasing their net long to 15,347 contracts from 12,720 in the week before. (reut.rs/2sZTBuA) 

Speculators went the other way on CBOT corn, expanding their net short to 106,119 futures and options contracts from 53,825 in the week prior. They had nearly wiped clean their bearish bets around mid-month over threatening U.S. weather forecasts, but largely benign outlooks ever since have led traders to once again hit the "sell" button. (reut.rs/2svj2kf) 

Wheat futures have been through the roof in the days since, though, especially Minneapolis, and funds may soon be bulls across all three wheat contracts. Drought continues to plague spring wheat in the Northern U.S. Plains, and lower-than-expected wheat acres in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s acreage report on Friday confirmed wheat’s upward march....

...MUCH MORE

From the list of fund positioning charts that head the story, funds in Minneapolis wheat: