Managed money still adding to record large canola short position

Glacier FarmMedia – Speculators continued to add to their record large net short position in canola in mid-February, showing little sign of moving to the other side of the market any time soon, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

As of Feb 20, 2024, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 149,049 (9,893 long/158,942 short), which was up by roughly 1,500 contracts from the former record hit just the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 300,800 contracts, which was down by 7,902 on the week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, the net short position in soybeans increased by about 2,300 contracts on the week at about 126,700 contracts.

Meanwhile, the net short position in corn grew by about 23,600 contracts on the week to come in at roughly 328,600 contracts – the second largest on record.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 71,300 contracts. The net short in Kansas City hard red winter wheat came in at roughly 39,900 contracts. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net short of around 24,300 contracts.

–– Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.