On The Money Grain Commentary–11-17-11

Corn Outlook:      Corn futures cratered this week amid sluggish demand, weakness in the outside markets, and ongoing uncertainty surrounding the debt crisis in Europe.  Conditions are becoming worse as bond yields in Italy, Ireland and Spain are soaring and reaching the point of being unsustainable.  Meanwhile, the next crisis in Europe will likely be[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–11-10-11

Corn Outlook:       A new coalition government is being formed in Greece, but problems are brewing in Italy.  Italy may be the next domino to fall as their bond yields have soared to over 7.0 percent.  Be advised that Europe’s debt crisis is worsening caused by decades of fiscal mismanagement.  Structural reform is needed to[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–11-3-11

Corn Outlook:      Investors were jubilant last week thinking that Greece’s debt problem had been resolved.  Faces are grimmer this week as their prime minister announced a referendum on the bailout plan fueling fear of a default.  Meanwhile, there are rumors that he may resign with the referendum being scrapped.  Adding to the confusion, MF[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–10-27-11

Corn Outlook:      Optimism abounds that Europe is on the road to recovery.   However, the summit agreement for a 50 percent write down of the Greek debt and increasing the rescue fund to $1.4 trillion will only be a band-aid.  No structural changes are being implemented.  Their measure will cut Greece’s debt to GDP ratio[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–10-20-11

Corn Outlook:      Corn futures face crosscurrents from uncertainty surrounding Europe’s debt crisis, harvest pressure, and prices falling to a level that is attracting end users.  Weather has been cooperative allowing harvest to progress quickly at 47 percent complete compared to the average of 41 percent.  China recently reported third quarter GDP at 9.1 percent,[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–10-13-11

Corn Outlook:      Corn futures have found traction after plummeting 26.5 percent since August.  Bloodletting by the funds has subsided with their long position falling to 575 MB from the peak in September at 1.355 BB.  Since 2010, large speculators have been the driving force in commodities.  However, because of increased volatility and economic uncertainty[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–10-6-11

Corn Outlook: Is there light at the end of the tunnel for the grains?  Since late August, they have endured relentless selling by the funds because of the debt crisis in Europe.  The contagion is spreading as Italy’s debt rating was downgraded this week.  Traders have left commodities and paper assets in droves.  Last week,[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–9-29-11

Corn Outlook:      Corn futures have undergone a brutal pounding during September.  The factors causing the sell-off are a weakening global economy and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.  The chaos in the financial markets caused the trend following funds to unload 200 MB of their long corn position last week reducing it to 1.015[…]

On The Money Grain Commentary–9-22-11

Corn Outlook:       September has been brutal for the bulls, as corn prices have fallen 16.8 percent from their high.  Weakness stems from the increased probability that Greece will default on its debt and disappointment with the Federal Reserve’s latest effort to boost the economy with Operation Twist, a plan to reduce long-term interest rates. […]

On The Money Grain Commentary–9-15-11

Corn Outlook:       USDA confirmed a smaller corn crop when they lowered their yield estimate to 148.1 bpa from 153.0 bpa in August.  This is higher than Ag Watch’s forecast of 144.8 bpa.  Ending stocks for the 2011-12 crop are projected at 672 MB.  In other developments, the trend following funds have been on the[…]