Futures brokerage cocoa futures brokerage activity is

Cocoa futures brokerage activity is elevated, with prices nearing $10,000 per metric ton for the first time. Tight global supply and West African export bottlenecks are forcing short-covering rallies across the board. According to a Bloomberg report, Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital intends to position itself as a broker-dealer if approval is granted, providing services to banks, financial institutions, and other licensed exchanges in Japan. The timing of CME's move is significant. As regulated institutions increasingly participate in crypto markets, the inability to adjust positions during weekends – when spot markets remain active and volatile – has become a operational constraint. Several high-profile weekend price swings in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have left CME traders unable to respond until Monday morning, creating basis risk between spot and futures markets. Agricultural futures brokerage turnover is up 9% week-over-week, paced by soybean contracts after USDA crop report revisions. Managed money net longs have increased, signaling speculative bets on an El Niño-driven yield squeeze later this summer.