GRAINS-Soybeans fall to seven-week low on disappointing US exports
By P.J. Huffstutter
CHICAGO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures slid to a seven-week low on Monday amid a broad sell-off in agriculture and energy markets, as soy traders continued to shed risk amid ongoing concerns over the pace of U.S. exports and expectations of a massive Brazilian harvest, market analysts said.
Wheat futures slumped as Argentina's large crop kept world supplies plentiful, traders said. And corn futures were pressured by cheap Argentine feed wheat, which could reduce corn demand.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans
Soybeans faced weakness as Chinese purchases of U.S. beans following the trade truce between the two nations disappointed traders, remaining well below the 12 million ton purchases flagged.
They also felt carry over pressure from data released Friday from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which showed that managed commodity funds had built a massive net long position in CBOT soybean futures by mid-November, leaving the market prone to bouts of long liquidation, said Chuck Shelby, president of Risk Management Commodities, a division of Zaner Ag Hedge.
As of Friday, total open interest in CBOT soybeans has fallen every day since December 4 - even as futures have declined, in another sign of long liquidation.
The CBOT data showed a delayed snapshot of where funds had been in their positions as of November 18, when the market was keenly focused on U.S.-China trade talks. Release of the information was delayed during the 43-day U.S. government shutdown in October and November.
"The data delay is pretty frustrating for the market right now," Shelby said. "What we're seeing today is a pretty broad-based commodity sell-off."
Meanwhile, markets continue to struggle to define Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans, said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager at StoneX. "Senior U.S. officials have said China will buy 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans, but the timescale is uncertain and China has not confirmed this number."
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