Headlines:
- Soybean prices slump as Argentina dries out
Soybean futures tumbled over 2%, after Argentina’s main growing region was forecast to dry out over coming weeks.
“Oilseeds markets traded lower around the world as weather conditions in South America improved and technical selling applied pressure after last week’s bullish funds bets,” said CRM AgriCommodities. Weekly commitment of traders’ data showed a big increase in fund long positions in soybeans, which was seen as bearish as it leaves plenty of room for liquidation
- Hedge funds hike bullish bets on ags – but is this a high water mark?
Hedge funds, despite a sell-off in cocoa, hiked bullish bets on agricultural commodities to the highest in seven months, in a move which raised some ideas that further such buying may be harder to come by. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, hiked its net long position in futures and options in the top 13 US-traded agricultural commodities, from hogs to sugar, by 145,883 contracts in the week to last Tuesday, analysis of data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulator shows. The increase in the net long – the extent to which long bets, which profit when values rise, exceed short holdings, which benefit when prices fall – took it to 737,652 contracts, doubling so far in 2017 to its highest level since June. And it reflected a further rise in bullish positioning in both grain and livestock complexes, contrasting with an easing in the net long in New York-traded soft commodities under the weight of a wave of selling in cocoa, in which speculators’ gross short position hit a record high.
Summary:
Soybean was the downside leader in the grain and Soy markets today. March Beans ended the day down 26.75 and was very close to the low end of the day’s trading range. March Corn finished down 4.25 cents but was well off the day’s lows finishing near the middle of the trading range. March Wheat took a hit ending the day down 6.25 cents at the bottom third of the day’s range. Carryover from the Soybean market was perhaps the main culprit in today’s weakness. Argentina was experience beneficial weather over the weekend and that was perhaps the catalyst for the losses in Beans today. Dryer weather is expected to continue for the next few days before some forecasted wetness expected in the later part of the week. It does also appear that some of the selling was the result of fund selling easing their next long positions.
