Get started

Money managers boost Chicago wheat net short to five-year high

According to data released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), investors added a large number of short positions in Chicago soft red winter wheat

April 17, 2023
By Mark Shenk
Corn Grains and oilseeds Soy Wheat

Investors added a large number of short positions in Chicago soft red winter wheat, sending the net short to the highest level since January 2018 in the week ending April 11, according to the commitment of traders data released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) late Friday, April 14.

While Chicago wheat, the most active US wheat contract, saw a massive gain in the net short, there was an increase in Kansas hard red winter wheat net long and a slight decline in Minneapolis wheat net long.

Managed money investors in the Chicago wheat market reported a 503-lot decrease in long positions, bringing the total to 56,306 contracts – a six-week low.

Speculators increased short positions by 16,661 lots, resulting in a total of 160,553–a 205-week high.

The surge in shorts helped bolster the net short by 17,164 lots to 104,247 – a 272-week high.

There was a 2,588-lot gain in long positions in the Kansas wheat contract, bringing the total to 37,341 – a seven-week high.

Short positions advanced by 972 lots, leaving the total at 28,122 contracts.

The decline in longs, coupled with the smaller increase in shorts, boosted the net long by 1,616 lots to 9,229 – a seven-week high.

Minneapolis wheat posted a 684-lot decline in the number of long positions, bringing the total to 9,477.

The number of shorts slipped by 235 positions to 9,232.

The Minneapolis wheat net long dropped by 449 to 245.

Corn and soybean markets

Investors in the corn market added 13,933 long positions during the period covered by the report, bringing the total to 213,491 – a seven-week high.

Short positions increased by 8,368 lots to 186,379.

The gain in longs, coupled with a smaller increase in shorts, resulted in a 5,565-lot advance in the net long, bringing the total to 27,112 – a six-week high.

A different dynamic was at work in the soybean market, where speculators shed 15,702 longs, sending the total to 142,652.

Investors added 5,240 shorts, resulting in a total of 17,630.

The soybean net long dropped by 20,942 lots to 125,022.

Find out more about Fastmarkets Agriculture prices

What to read next
Food, Grain, Produce
Wheat commentary: US, European futures mixed; Black Sea enters seasonal downturn
US wheat futures and Euronext contracts were mixed on Tuesday June 16, with most US contracts moving lower, while Chicago soft red winter wheat futures posted gains. Euronext contracts also moved higher during the session. Global cash markets remained subdued, with limited activity as buyers largely stayed on the sidelines. Black Sea wheat prices are starting to trend lower under seasonal harvest pressure, while Australia, Europe and Argentina were broadly steady.
June 17, 2026
 · 
By Fastmarket team
Soybean commentary: China’s rumored return to US soybean market bolsters bullish momentum from NOPA crush report
Soybean and soybean meal futures continued to ride on the coattails of the bullish National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) crush report on Tuesday June 16, with market chatter that China is bidding on — or indeed may have already bought — US beans for February, giving much-lauded impetus to further increases in futures markets over the period.
June 17, 2026
 · 
By Fastmarket team
US soyoil commands record premium to South America; regional spreads narrow amid CME sell-off
Soybean oil bases in Argentina and Brazil hit a record spread to their counterpart in the US Gulf on June 1, with a mix of biofuel policies, harvest pressures and export competition against rival oils creating massive regional divergences, although the spread decreased by the end of last week amid a CME soyoil futures sell-off.
June 11, 2026
 · 
By Amanda Luhavalja
Food, Grain, Produce
Why European wheat is losing its export edge – and what comes next 
EU wheat exports reached 19.23 million tonnes as of May 31, according to European Commission data, yet weekly flow data from Rouen port collapsed 66.6% to 72,923 tonnes in the week to June 3, pointing to a sharp deceleration in physical trade.
June 8, 2026
 · 
By Arjun Prabhu
Soybean price commentary: Futures fall on US tariffs, bearish derived and external markets
Soybean futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were lower on Friday June 5 due to uncertainties around Chinese commitment to buy of US goods and a perfect storm in external and derived markets.
June 8, 2026
 · 
By Victor Gusmao
Bean, Food, Plant
Soybean, corn, wheat prices fall on plummeting futures
Fastmarkets’ weekly recap of the main movements in global cash markets.
June 8, 2026
 · 
By Masha Belikova