Hedge Funds Reduce Bullish Bets by Most in a Month – Bloomberg 12-17-12

John Stephenson at First Asset Investment Mgmt said the Fed basically admitted that they don’t have what it takes to deal with the fiscal cliff, and it dimmed the idea that unlimited money printing will help commodities.

Saumil Parikh at Pimco said global growth will slow to near stall speed in 2013 as monetary policy becomes less effective in stimulating expansion.

Kevin Caron at Stifel Nicolaus said rising consumption in China and emerging economies will help support commodities demand, while central bank efforts to stoke inflation are a positive. Caron is constructive on the outlook for commodities for 2013.

Bank of America said gold, copper, silver, platinum and palladium will outperform other commodities in 2013 as central bank stimulus programs boost demand from investors seeking alternative assets. Goldman Sachs expects gold to peak in 2013.

Cameron Brandt at EPFR Global said money managers withdrew funds from commodity funds last week, including gold and precious-metals funds. Hedge funds et al lowered bullish commodity bets by the most in a month last week. Investors cut bullish wagers on crude oil to the lowest in a month, and increased bets on lower natural-gas prices, the most bearish since June. Funds cut sugar holdings to the lowest since November 2007. Bullish wheat bets had their biggest decline since June.

Walter ‘Bucky’ Hellwig at BB&T Wealth Mgmt said the budget negotiation break down and apparent ineffectiveness of the stimulus to juice the market overrides bullish economic numbers.