Speculators finally backing away from bearish bets in canola

Glacier FarmMedia – Speculators were busy covering some of their large net short position in canola in early March, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

As of March 12, 2024, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 135,813 contracts (7,098 long/142,911 short), which was down by roughly 18,000 contracts from the record-large net short position posted the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market was down by 8,505 contracts on the week at 295,011 contracts.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, the net short position in soybeans decreased by about 13,700 contracts due to a combination of short covering and new longs going on the books, coming in at around 146,600 contracts.

Meanwhile, the net short position in corn lost about 33,000 contracts on the week to come in at roughly 252,300 contracts.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 78,600 contracts. The net short in Kansas City hard red winter wheat came in at roughly 34,800 contracts. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net short of around 21,800 contracts.

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