Why are New York cocoa futures rising?

New York cocoa futures have surged to $5,888.00 per ton, also an all-time high. While poor weather and disease afflicting the cocoa trees in the world’s main cocoa growing regions in West Africa sparked the rally, the hedge fund stampede has added to its fierceness, according to analysts, traders and brokers.

What happened to the cocoa market in July?

July London cocoa futures on the ICE exchange fell nearly 15% on Monday for their largest one-day loss and then lost more than 10% at the market open on Tuesday. They settled up 251 pounds, or 3.3%, to 7,929 pounds per metric ton at the close, while July New York cocoa futures rose 3.9% to $9,283 a ton, having lost nearly 16% on Monday.

Will cocoa prices continue to rise?

Speculative traders have amassed an $8.7bn bet across London and New York cocoa futures contracts that prices will continue to rise, the largest ever in dollar terms, according to positioning data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.