(Bloomberg News)  Bullish commodities futures rose above 1 million contracts for the first time in five months as U.S. growth prospects improved and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted further price gains.

Hedge funds and money managers boosted combined net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 7.3 percent to 1.03 million contracts in the week ended Feb. 21, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. That's the highest since Sept. 13. Bullish wagers on gold climbed to a five-month high, and bets on crude oil rose to the most since May.

The Standard & Poor's GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities capped its biggest weekly increase of the year last week, touching a nine-month high on Feb. 24. U.S. consumer confidence rose more than forecast in February, and new-home sales topped estimates. Goldman reiterated an "overweight" recommendation on raw materials on Feb. 22.

"The U.S. is showing better signs of self-sustaining economic activity," said Michael Strauss, who helps oversee about $27 billion of assets as chief investment strategist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut. "What we see is reasonable global growth this year, which should be supportive of gains in overall commodities."

Global Rally

Stocks and commodities advanced after euro-area finance ministers approved 130 billion euros ($175 billion) in aid for Greece last week to avert a default. China, the world's biggest consumer of everything from pork to soybeans, said Feb. 18 that it will cut reserve requirements for banks to spur growth. German business confidence rose more than economists forecast to a seven-month high in February, the Munich-based Ifo institute said on Feb. 23.

The S&P GSCI gauge climbed 3.9 percent last week, the biggest gain since Dec. 23, and was down 0.4 percent by 2:13 p.m. in London today. The MSCI index of equities rallied 0.9 percent, with about $557.7 billion added to the value of global stocks. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 2.6 basis points, or 0.026 percentage point, to 1.98 percent, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices.

Fifteen of the raw materials tracked by the S&P GSCI climbed last week, led by gains in industrial metals. Lead surged 8 percent, aluminum advanced 7.5 percent, and zinc rose 6.9 percent.

Contracts Outstanding

The number of contracts outstanding across the 24 commodities tracked by S&P rose 1 percent last week, boosting this year's increase to 14 percent, exchange data show. Funds have lifted wagers for five straight weeks, the longest stretch since December 2010, CFTC data show.
Investors added $571 million to commodity funds in the week ended Feb. 22, according to data from Cambridge, Massachusetts- based EPFR Global, which tracks money flows. Gold and precious- metals inflows totaled $210 million, said Cameron Brandt, the director of research.

First « 1 2 » Next