
Jack Scoville
Jack Scoville is an often quoted market analyst in the grain and soft commodities sectors. You will find his commentary throughout the Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Bloomberg, and Barron's publications. Contact Mr. Scoville at (312) 264-4322
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Softs Report 08/05/2024
COTTON
General Comments: Cotton was a little higher again last week on US Dollar weakness that created new demand hopes. Getter crop condition ratings from USDA kept ideas of big production around. It looks like futures are cheap enough for now but speculators see no reason to buy except to cover short positions. USDA showed overall good crop conditions that have kept abandonment ideas at a minimum and supported strong yields along with increased planted area. The Delta should have the best looking crops right now. Demand has been weaker so far this year but there are hopes for improved demand with the lower prices.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in Cotton are mixed. Support is at 67.50, 66.40, and 65.20 December, with resistance of 70.20, 73.70 and 74.40 December.
COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of July 30, 2024
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
COTTON NO. 2 – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #033661 Open Interest is 265,140
: Positions :
: 32,630 85,045 63,837 72,881 84,062 82,482 16,894 251,830 249,838: 13,311 15,302
: Changes from: July 23, 2024 (Change in open interest: 5,885) :
: 3,515 4,689 2,007 2,064 -2,526 -1,606 1,720 5,981 5,890: -96 -5
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 12.3 32.1 24.1 27.5 31.7 31.1 6.4 95.0 94.2: 5.0 5.8
: Total Traders: 325 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 83 113 91 62 59 46 20 245 234:
——————————————————————————————————————-
FCOJ
General Comments: FCOJ closed lower last week as the hurricane watch continued but nothing appeared threatening in the forecasts. Traders also continued to react to the USDA production reports released on Friday that showed slight increases in production in Florida and California. A very active year is forecast and there have been some reports of flooding in the state even with no huge storms. The market remains well supported in the longer term based on forecasts for tight supplies and very hot weather in Florida. The reduced production also appears to be at the expense of the greening disease. There are no weather concerns to speak of for Florida or for Brazil right now.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in FCOJ are mixed. Support is at 410.00, 403.00, and 393.00 September, with resistance at 443.00, 454.00, and 478.00 September.
Disaggregated Commitments of Traders- Options and Futures Combined Positions as of July 30, 2024
: Reportable Positions :
:————————————————————————————————————- :
: Producer/Merchant : : : :
: Processor/User : Swap Dealers : Managed Money : Other Reportables :
: Long : Short : Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short :Spreading :
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FRZN CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE – ICE FUTURES U.S. (CONTRACTS OF 15,000 POUNDS) :
CFTC Code #040701 Open Interest is 12,432 :
: Positions :
: 1,710 7,154 754 0 191 3,037 548 44 1,199 486 2,919 :
: Changes from: July 23, 2024 :
: 159 -459 -154 0 90 -310 -74 1 -351 -46 224 :
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 13.8 57.5 6.1 0.0 1.5 24.4 4.4 0.4 9.6 3.9 23.5 :
: Number of Traders in Each Category Total Traders: 61 :
: 9 8 4 0 . 18 5 . 12 10 11 :
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COFFEE
General Comments: New York closd a little higher and London closed a little lower last week as offers of Conillon from Brazil increased with the harvest there of the robusta starting to wind down. Reports of better rains in Vietnam and Brazil recently were important. There are still reports of short supplies that could be made worse by ideas of reduced offers of Robusta are still in the market. Offers from Vietnam are reported to be down significantly and the current crop in Brazil along with the next crop in Vietnam s reported to be smaller. The weather forecasters now say that conditions are good in Vietnam, but damage was done to crops earlier in the growing season. A little rain has been reported in Vietnam and in Brazil recently to help crops in both countries. There were also reports of poor Robusta yields in Brazil during the harvest due to small bean sizes. Arabica yields in Brazil and Colombia are reported to be less this year due to extreme weather in both countries.
Overnight News: The ICO daily average price is now 226.88 ct/lb.
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 226.00, 222.00, and 216.00 September, and resistance is at 235.00, 241.00 and 247.00 September. Trends in London are mixed. Support is at 4160, 4080, and 3950 September, with resistance at 4310, 4400, and 4480 September.
COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of July 30, 2024
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
COFFEE C – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #083731 Open Interest is 297,044
: Positions :
: 54,534 12,964 92,556 76,881 164,851 64,519 19,999 288,490 290,370: 8,554 6,674
: Changes from: July 23, 2024 (Change in open interest: 10,836) :
: -3,966 -1,810 8,670 5,990 1,077 122 2,061 10,816 9,998: 20 837
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 18.4 4.4 31.2 25.9 55.5 21.7 6.7 97.1 97.8: 2.9 2.2
: Total Traders: 373 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 126 59 106 92 120 48 21 315 269:
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SUGAR
General Comments: New York and London closed lower last week as harvest progress in Brazil and improved growing conditions in India were the important fundamentals and as growing conditions improved in Brazil. Indin monsoon rains have been very beneficial and mills there are expecting a strong crop of cane. They are pushing the government to allow exports but so far the government has not agreed. Production estimates were raised in the northern hemisphere. Harvest yields of Sugarcane in Brazil are improving. There are still ideas that the Brazil harvest can be strong for the next few weeks amid dry harvest weather. Harvest weather is called good in center-south Brazil.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed to down with no objectives. Support is at 1770, 1740, and 1710 October and resistance is at 1880, 1910, and 1950 October. Trends in London are mixed to down with no objectives. Support is at 513.00, 510.00, and 504.00 October, with resistance at 538.00, 555.00, and 562.00 October.
COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of July 30, 2024
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
SUGAR NO. 11 – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #080732 Open Interest is 939,030
: Positions :
: 83,551 123,033 199,162 376,386 496,199 217,742 57,450 876,840 875,844: 62,190 63,186
: Changes from: July 23, 2024 (Change in open interest: 10,345) :
: 9,236 5,710 225 4,799 5,839 -2,223 1,768 12,036 13,541: -1,691 -3,196
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 8.9 13.1 21.2 40.1 52.8 23.2 6.1 93.4 93.3: 6.6 6.7
: Total Traders: 245 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 58 62 81 74 72 39 21 212 196:
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COCOA
General Comments: New York was higher and London closed lower last week as tight supply conditions and reports of good demand are still around. The weather for the next crop is still improved as weather reports indicate it is raining in Ivory Coast and Ghana right now. The current rains can help production of the next crop but have also created disease concerns about the pods. Production concerns in West Africa as well as demand from nontraditional sources along with traditional buyers keep supporting futures, but this support is running its course and the market is searching for a new bullish fundamental. The North American and European grinds were stronger in data released last week, but the Asian grind was down a little. Production in West Africa could be reduced this year due to the extreme weather which included Harmattan conditions. The availability of Cocoa from West Africa remains very restricted. Cocoa arrivals at Ivory Coast are now 27.2% less than a year ago. Demand has been strong for Cocoa and Chocolate.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 6960, 6580, and 6420 September, with resistance at 8250, 8480, and 8670 September. Trends in London are mixed. Support is at 5920, 5820, and 5360 September, with resistance at 6610, 6880, and 7080 September.
COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of July 30, 2024
Questions? Ask Jack Scoville today at 312-264-4322: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
COCOA – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #073732 Open Interest is 222,610
: Positions :
: 27,697 15,390 93,815 59,359 92,806 29,761 14,911 210,631 216,922: 11,978 5,688
: :
: Changes from: July 23, 2024 (Change in open interest: -5,163) :
: 4 286 -3,632 -800 -647 -1,111 -873 -5,539 -4,865: 376 -298
: :
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 12.4 6.9 42.1 26.7 41.7 13.4 6.7 94.6 97.4: 5.4 2.6
: :
: Total Traders: 176 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 60 37 78 37 36 30 18 162 140:
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