CFTC: CBOT Corn Futures Net Long Positions Highest in a Decade

Booming crop demand, generally low domestic stocks and now potentially troubling early-season crop weather have speculators and money managers at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) extending net long positions for corn futures to their highest levels in 10 years. Such market positions are a key indicator in the market’s sentiment about corn prices moving forward, and the current trend is one that foreshadows higher projected futures prices in coming months. Though levels aren’t quite as high, a similar trend is beginning to unfold in Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) wheat futures, which have seen a sharp rise in net long positions in the last week. Weather is behind both trends; corn longs are watching cool, wet planting weather for much of the Corn Belt, while the wheat longs are partially driven by drought and now potential freeze damage in the Plains crop. See more on the futures market situation.