Soybeans in the Red Sea of Trading
At midday, soybeans are hovering around 5 cents above their lows, with a notable 2 to 7 cents deficit. The May contract bravely touched the $12 landmark during the session’s peak, encompassing an 18c trading range kickoff to the week. Interestingly, Soymeal futures, although uplifted from their midday lows, are still swimming in a sea of red with losses ranging from 10 to 30 cents. Likewise, Soy Oil futures are navigating downwards, plummeting by 40 to 50 points halfway through the day. In a surprising turn of events, CME’s OI data unveiled a 9.9k contract surge for soybean futures on Friday. Options open interest soared as well on Friday, with an additional 9.8k contracts, inclusive of 5.3k new calls and 3.5k new puts.
Winds of Change in the Trading Ecosystem
Recent weekly CFTC data portrayed managed money traders engaging in short covering during the week ending on 3/12. A staggering 13k lesser shorts were in play, alongside 3.8k new longs, thus reducing their net short to 155k contracts. Whereas, commercial soybean hedgers were seen reinforcing their positions during the week, leading to a striking 53k contract net long as of the Tuesday close.
Statistics Echo a Tale of Decline
As per USDA reports, 686,181 MT of soybeans were shipped during the week ending 3/14, marking a decline from 784k MT the previous week and 720k MT during the corresponding week last year. Notably, USDA added belated soybean exports to previous weeks, tallying the season’s total at 35.77 MMT, a significant downturn from the 44.06 MMT recorded at a similar point last year.
Moreover, NOPA members disclosed a crushing figure of 186.2 mbu in February, surpassing expectations and setting a new record for the month. This marked a 0.2% escalation from January, and soy oil stocks also saw growth, expanding to 1.69 billion lbs compared to 1.51 billion lbs in the previous month.
May 24 Soybeans are priced at $11.94 1/4, witnessing a decline of 4 cents,
Nearby Cash sits at $11.38 7/8, marking a 4-cent dip,
Jul 24 Soybeans are valued at $12.09, experiencing a 3 1/2 cents drop,
Nov 24 Soybeans stand at $11.86 1/2, witnessing a 4 1/4 cents descent.
As of the publication date, Alan Brugler had no direct or indirect positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. The information and data shared here are purely for informational purposes. For further details, refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy.
The opinions voiced herein belong to the author and may not necessarily align with those of Nasdaq, Inc.
