US: Funds carve out most bearish CBOT corn view since June 2020

Speculators are building up big short positions in U.S. grain futures on plentiful global supplies, though a tighter oilseed market and weather concerns in South America have kept funds long the Chicago soy complex. In the week ended Nov. 21, money managers’ combined gross short positions across CBOT wheat, corn, Kansas City and Minneapolis wheat futures and options surged 8% to 645,074 contracts, the highest since May 2019, following a notoriously bearish time in the markets. Money managers’ net short in CBOT wheat futures and options rose to a 23-week high of 108,176 futures and options contracts as of Nov. 21 versus 89,271 a week earlier. That included the addition of nearly 20,000 gross shorts, the most for any week since early 2019. Funds added more than 20,000 gross shorts in CBOT corn futures and options through Nov. 21, the most in three weeks, resulting in a managed money net short of 185,502 contracts versus 163,486 in the prior week. That is funds’ most bearish corn ...