Funds lower risk in CBOT corn, soy ahead of pivotal US data

Sensitive commodities: A worker shovels dried soybeans at a storage facility in Ontario, Canada. Corn and soybean futures’ elevated status make them more vulnerable to downside corrections. — Bloomberg

SPECULATORS backed off Chicago corn and soybean futures last week ahead of the US government’s annual data blitz, which stood to threaten investors’ long-standing bullish views given the historically high prices.

In the week ended Jan 10, money managers reduced their net long position in the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures and options to 149,605 contracts from 196,457 a week earlier.