Managed Money Shows to Be Buyers Corn and Sellers of Soybeans
Managed money, a proxy for speculators, increased their net long position in corn by 1,271 to 15,833 contracts, the largest net long position since Oct 23. Wet weather across much of the Midwest during harvest may have led to the bullish position held by speculators.
For soybeans, money managers were shown to have increased their net short position by 10,619 to 49,485 contracts.
Speculators have turned bearish on KC HRW wheat for the first time since Jan 30, with a net short position of 4.449 contracts. However, speculators decreased their net shorts in Chicago SRW wheat by 13,440 to 28,525 contracts, the smallest net short position in about a month.
Private Exporters Report Sales Activity for South Korea
Private exporters reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture export sales of 138,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to South Korea during the 2018/2019 marketing year.
Ratings for French Wheat Crop Are Lowest in Six Years
The initial condition ratings for the newly planted soft wheat crop in France is the lowest in six years, coming in at 82% good-to-excellent. France continues to deal with the effects of a drought earlier this year.
For the previous crop, soft wheat was rated as 97% G/E. The drought in France has also severely impacted yields for corn and sugar beets, as well as stressed newly planted rapeseed.
French farmers have planted 92% of the soft wheat area, slightly behind last year’s progress of 94%. Key growing regions of France did see some precipitation last week but more is needed, particularly in the northeastern part of the country.
Cold Temperatures with Little-to-No Snow Forecast for Central Midwest
Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois are expecting cooler weather this week but very little in the way of precipitation or high winds, according to the National Weather Service.
Further to the east, central Indiana and Ohio are bracing for up to an inch of snow, although little accumulation beyond that is not expected.
Colder overnight temperatures may allow for some low-lying fields to freeze and let farmers finish off harvesting areas that were to challenging with all of the moisture received earlier this fall.
