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 08/21/2024
COTTON
General Comments: Cotton was higher yesterday in response the USDA crop reports that showed deteriorating conditions. There are still ideas of weaker demand potential against an outlook for improved US production in the coming year. It looks like futures are cheap enough for now but speculators see no reason to buy except to cover short positions as there have been demand concerns about Bangladesh and China and ideas are that production is strong enough. The Delta should have the best looking crops right now, but crops in other areas are more suspect. Texas and the Southeast have seen some extreme heat so far this year, and Texas has also seen dry conditions at times during the growing season. 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 to down with no objectives. Support is at 67.40, 66.30, and 65.70 December, with resistance of 70.80, 73.00 and 73.70 December.
FCOJ
General Comments: FCOJ closed a little higher in consolidation trading as forecasts call for no tropical activity in the near future in the Atlantic. Nothing appeared threatening in the forecasts for this week as the current tropical system should stay in the ocean and there is nothing in the ocean to suggest that a storm is on its way to Florida. 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 439.00, 432.00, and 420.00 September, with resistance at 463.00, 467.00, and 471.00 September.
COFFEE
General Comments: New York and London closed higher and at new highs for the move yesterday with offers from Vietnam still hard to find but offers from Brazil and Indonesia in the market. Indonesian offers are now less as producers ther wait for even higher prices before selling. The weather forecasters now say that conditions are good in Vietnam, but damage was done to crops earlier in the growing season. There were also reports of poor Robusta yields in Brazil during the harvest due to small bean sizes but offers have been strong so far this season. 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 247.83 ct/lb.
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed to up with no objectives. Support is at 246.00, 237.00, and 230.00 September, and resistance is at 255.00, 261.00 and 264.00 September. Trends in London are up with no objectives. Support is at 4630, 4490, and 4340 September, with resistance at 4920, 4980, and 5040 September.
SUGAR
General Comments: New York and London closed lower yesterday on demand concerns. Chinese demand in particular is in focus amid the economic problems seen there. Harvest progress in Brazil and improved growing conditions in India and Thailand are the important fundamentals and growing conditions are turning drier in Brazil. Indian and Thai monsoon rains have been very beneficial and mills are expecting strong crops of cane. They are pushing the governments to allow exports but so far the governments have not agreed. Production estimates were raised in the northern hemisphere. Harvest yields of Sugarcane in Brazil are falling but not enough to impact prices much.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are down with no objectives. Support is at 1740, 1710, and 1680 October and resistance is at 1810, 1740, and 1890 October. Trends in London are down with no objectives. Support is at 501.00, 498.00, and 495.00 October, with resistance at 513.00, 517.00, and 524.00 October.
COCOA
Questions? Ask Jack Scoville today at 312-264-4322General Comments: New York closed a little higher and London closed mixed in consolidation trading on tight supply conditions and reports of good crop conditions for the next crop. Production concerns in West Africa as well as demand from nontraditional sources along with traditional buyers keep supporting futures. Production in West Africa could be stronger this year on improved weather as there are currently good rains although cool temperatures are also reported. The availability of Cocoa from West Africa remains very restricted, but surplus production against demand is expected in the next crop year.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed to up with no objectives. Support is at 8970, 8360, and 8050 September, with resistance at 9540, 9800, and 10310 September. Trends in London are mixed. Support is at 6250, 5880, and 5820 September, with resistance at 6880, 7080, and 7320 September.