Category: Advisor Commentary

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments A handful of key inputs combined make February a bearish month for agricultural futures. Corn, wheat, soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil all closed lower for the month. After making their highs mid-month, all the nearby contracts made their lows today, the last day of the month. […]

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments By recent standards, January was a relatively quiet month for agricultural futures. Volatility trended lower for corn, wheat, and soybeans, and their monthly trading ranges were near the lowest of the past year. The top three global issues were the same as last month: 1) dryness in […]

With the crude oil markets now trading well below where it was before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, observers may be forgiven for thinking that the consumer has won, meaning the producer has lost. Higher pump prices and the consumer’s weaker purchasing power certainly held back demand growth to only +1.85 million barrels per day […]

Commentary provided by David Zelinski of Opus Futures. Happy New Year to all! I’m excited to get off to a great start in 2023, but before discussing the outlook, I want to spend a quick minute discussing 2022. Our program was off to a strong start in the first half of 2022, but profits were harder […]

Commentary provided by David Zelinski of Opus Futures. I struck a bullish tone toward corn and soybean markets in last month’s commentary. Part of the bullishness was due to the recent (at that time) news of a breakdown in the Ukraine export corridor. We now know that the Russians backed down very quickly from their harsh […]

Commentary provided by David Zelinski of Opus Futures. In last month’s commentary, we reviewed various data points indicating that inflation is starting to roll over. While inflation readings are sure to remain elevated for several more months, the worst is clearly behind us, and the more pressing concern going forward could be slowing economic demand. Nothing […]

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments With the arrival of winter in the northern hemisphere, a majority of market observers have turned their attention toward the production prospects in the southern hemisphere, where Brazil, Argentina, and Australia dominate. Australia’s leading crop is wheat, and they are on track to produce their third large […]

Commentary provided by David Zelinski of Opus Futures. In last month’s commentary, we went through a few reasons why grain and oilseed prices were likely to come under some pressure. We pointed out the low river water levels, which were restricting export capacity and the usual seasonal harvest pressure on prices. The river situation has played […]

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments After months of high volatility and wide daily and weekly trading ranges, the agricultural markets settled down considerably in October. Corn and soybean futures were particularly docile, with corn volatility falling to a two-year low and soybean volatility to a one-year low. The monthly trading range in […]

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments The last business day of September always brings the USDA’s report of September 1st U.S. grain stocks, the end of the previous crop year. This report has often yielded surprises that force a change in the last fall’s crop size and create significant moves in the futures […]

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments We opened the month of August with all eyes on the M/V Razoni, the first vessel to sail out of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February. The Razoni and at least 64 other vessels traveled safely through the corridors the UN, Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine agreed […]

Commentary provided by Chad Burlet of Third Street AG Investments The themes of uncertainty and volatility that have been with us for most of 2022 did not leave us during July. Some root causes, like the war in Ukraine, have been with us for many months, but new risks and unexpected developments have impacted the agricultural markets […]

Commentary by GZC Investment Management Global balances in crude have been tight in 2H21 but since then have been globally neutral to soft. Great disparities between OECD and non-OECD countries have been noticeable. In short, OECD has been drawing oil stocks rapidly until recently while non-OECD countries, particularly China, were constantly building stocks, allowing them […]