NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Speculators downsized their bullish bets in Chicago grain and oilseed futures late last month amid a historically large drop in prices, and relatively supportive data from the US government late last week, especially for soybeans, seemingly did nothing to stop the selling trend.
CBOT December corn futures plunged 6 percent in the week ended June 28, and November soybeans fell 3.2 percent, though both contracts traded down as much as 8 percent at different points in the period. Speculative selling was a bit heavier than expected.
Money managers reduced their net long position in CBOT corn futures and options to 228,615 contracts through June 28 from 265,264 a week earlier, the new stance their least bullish since October. That is according to data published Friday by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
They also cut their net long in CBOT soybean futures and options to 124,498 contracts, the lowest since January, down from 154,413 in the prior week. The combined selling across corn and soybeans was the equivalent of 333 million bushels, the most for any week since November.
Money managers’ corn and soybean selling did not include a notable increase in gross short positions, which otherwise may have signaled confidence in the downside move. They actually covered some shorts in corn and added a relatively small amount in soybeans.
Late June is a typical time for index traders to trim up their positions, but the 14 percent decline in their overall corn positions was a bit larger than usual. They cut their soybean bets by 12 percent, closer to norms.
Money managers’ corn views remain in line with the year-ago, though further selling likely ensued late last week as December futures fell another 7.8 percent in the last three sessions. They ended at $6.07-1/2 per bushel Friday, dipping to the lowest point since March 1 and the lowest for the most-active contract since January.
That pressure came despite a neutral stocks and acres report from the US Department of Agriculture on Thursday, which included an extremely bullish forecast for US soybean acres. That number fell below any pre-report analyst guess, but soybeans sold off hard late Thursday and especially Friday.
November soybeans shed 4.6 percent over the last three sessions, including more than 4 percent on Friday, when the contract dropped to the lowest levels since Feb. 4. Friday’s settle of $13.95-1/4 per bushel was more than $1 off Thursday’s high. — Reuters
