Wheat Futures Continue to Breakdown. Next Stop $5.00?
Wheat
Technicals (September)
September Chicago wheat futures broke below trendline support on Thursday which spilled into additional pressure on Friday and into the start of this week's trade. This price action keeps the Bulls in the driver's seat with little meaningful support until you get closer to the psychologically significant 5.00 level. On the resistance side, our pivot pocket from 525 1/4-530 will be the line in the sand to keep an eye on at the start of the week.
Friday's Commitment of Traders report was relatively flat from the previous week. As of July 23rd, Funds were holding a net short position to the tune of 75,184 futures/options contracts. Broken down that is 71,579 longs VS 146,763 shorts.
Bias: Neutral
Resistance: 537-539***, 553 1/2-556 1/4***
Pivot: 525 1/4-530
Support: 500**
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Disclaimers:
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. Trading advice is based on information taken from trade and statistical services and other sources Blue Line Futures, LLC believes are reliable. We do not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects our good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that the advice we give will result in profitable trades. All trading decisions will be made by the account holder. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
ZW1! trade ideas
After selling off for 2 years$ 418 Low of May 2019
$1284 High of May 2022
$ 540 Low of April 2024
After massive floods in Europe, Asia, and now South America, wheat prices have taken off like a rocket. Commodities are not my specialty, but i have watched this one for years and it's been bought every pull back in the past 2 moths after it was sold every rally for the last 2 years. Even though the price is almost 30% off the last month lows, there is a lot more room to the highs of 2022.
Strategy- small size, looking to catch the big move and more importantly to be able to hold on to it.
Stop $631
1st Target $900
2nd Target $1,200
let's see how this one goes:)
ZW: Wheat to Rebound with Fed Rate Cuts and Dollar DevaluationCBOT: Wheat Futures ( CBOT:ZW1! )
On Friday, July 12th, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE).
(Note: The WASDE report is published monthly and provides annual forecasts for global supply and use of wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds and cotton, as well as the U.S. supply and use of sugar, meat, poultry eggs and milk. Today’s analysis will focus on wheat.)
USDA’s balance sheet update for the 2023/24 US wheat crop showed a carryout of 702 million bushels (mbu), as exports were taken to 707 mbu. For the new crop, USDA raises the wheat stocks by 98 mbu to 856 mbu. Some of the increases was a larger carryover, but most came in the form of higher production.
USDA raised the wheat crop by 133 mbu to 2.008 billion bushels (bbu). Harvested acres was raised from 38.0 to 38.8 million acres. Yield per harvested acres was raised by 2.4 bushels per acre (bpa) to 51.8 bpa. Winter wheat was up 46 mbu to 1.341 bbu, as the Hard Red Wheat (HRW) total was projected at 763 mbu (+37 mbu), with Soft Red Wheat (SRW) at 344 mbu (+2 mbu) and white winter at 234 mbu (+8 mbu). The initial other spring wheat figure was tallied at 577.8 mbu, more than 56 mbu above market estimate.
Global wheat stocks were raised by 4.97 million metric tons (MMT) to 257.24 MMT, with a bulk from the US, as both Canadian and Argentine wheat production were raised.
Wheat Futures drop across three futures markets, CBOT, KCBT and MGEX, after WASDE shows higher production.
• Jul 24 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.38, down 16 1/4 cents,
• Sep 24 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.50 3/4, down 20 1/2 cents,
• Jul 24 KCBT Wheat closed at $6.04, up 12 3/4 cents,
• Sep 24 KCBT Wheat closed at $5.67 3/4, down 16 cents,
• Jul 24 MGEX Wheat closed at $6.21, unchanged,
• Sep 24 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.97 1/2, down 21 1/4 cents
The weekly CFTC Commitment of Traders report showed CBOT wheat speculative traders net short 69,137 contracts as of July 9th, a reduction of 4,837-contract on the week. In KC wheat, they were trimming 2,292 contracts to 40,811 contracts by July 9th.
In my opinion, the futures market has quickly absorbed the bearish WASDE report. With wheat trading at historical low levels, a rebound may be brewing in the next few months.
Traditionally, August is the time to hedge weather risks in agricultural commodities. If summer weather in the Midwest and Great Plain regions turns out to be less than ideal, the previously expected higher yield will have to be adjusted downward, reducing total production.
In today’s market, how could the expected Fed rate cuts impact commodities?
Last Tuesday, July 9th, Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared in a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.
The Fed Chair expressed concern that holding interest rates too high for too long could jeopardize economic growth. “Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.”
“At the same time, in light of the progress made both in lowering inflation and in cooling the labor market over the past two years, elevated inflation is not the only risk we face,” he said in prepared remarks. “Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.”.
The prospect for quicker rate cuts increased immediately after these dovish remarks. According to CME Group FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25bp rate cut in September is now 90.3%. Futures traders look for 3-4 rate cuts by the end of the year, with a 53.8% probability for the Fed Funds rate lowering to the 4.25%-4.75% range.
(www.cmegroup.com)
Would the lower interest rates be bullish for commodities like wheat?
Firstly, lower interest rates will reduce borrowing costs. This will help business grow, with more jobs, income and consumption coming along the way. At the end, it will help increase the demand for commodities such as wheat.
Secondly, as a major agricultural commodity, wheat is priced in the US dollar and traded in the global market. In previous writings I explained that lower interest rates would result in currency depreciation, as prescribed by the Interest Rate Parity theory (IRP).
For foreign buyers, dollar depreciation means an appreciation of their local currency. The cost of importing wheat will be lowered when converted in local currency. Lower costs help increase the demand for wheat.
Trading with CBOT Wheat Futures
The 3-year price chart for CBOT wheat futures shows three distinguished patterns:
• From February to April 2022, wheat prices nearly doubled from about $7 to $13. This was driven by geopolitical crisis and the fear of global supply shortage.
• From May 2022 to July 2023, the Fed implemented 11 consecutive hikes, which helped cut wheat prices by half to about $6.
• From August 2023 to present, as the Fed kept interest rates unchanged in seven FOMC meetings, wheat prices moved sideways in the $5.50-$7.00 range.
As we can see here, Fed policy and geopolitical crisis have an outsized impact on wheat prices, as compared with fundamental supply and demand.
In my opinion, the supply and demand factors are already priced in the market. However, the impacts from Fed rate cuts and outcome of the upcoming presidential election are not yet fully grasped by the market. The expected Fed loosening cycle would have the opposite effect of the Fed hikes. Wheat prices could potentially move up the $7.00-$9.00 by 2025.
On July 12th, the March 2025 contract of CBOT wheat futures (ZWH5) settled at $5.975 per bushel. Each contract has a notional value of 5,000 bushels, or $29,875 at market prices. Buying (long) or selling (short) one contract requires an initial margin of $2,000 at the time of writing.
CBOT lists 15 monthly contracts of Mar, May, Jul, Sep, and Dec. Wheat traders could take up positions two years from now, for the month of July 2026. Trading on the 3rd or 4th contract month would satisfy the liquidity requirements while allowing time for market-impacting variables to change, based on my experience.
Happy Trading.
Disclaimers
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
Wheat Futures Flirt With Significant Support Wheat
Technicals (September)
Wheat futures were mostly rangebound yesterday as prices continue to attempt to mark a low against the lows from the end of June. That support pocket remains intact from 550-560. The hurdle the Bulls want to get back out above remains intact from 579-583 1/4. If they can achieve this on a closing basis, we could see a move back towards the more significant resistance pocket from 597 1/2-603.0
Bias: Neutral/Bullish
Resistance: 597 1/2-603***, 614-620***
Pivot: 579-583 1/4
Support: 550-560***
Check out CME Group real-time data plans available on TradingView here: www.tradingview.com
Disclaimers:
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
*Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. Trading advice is based on information taken from trade and statistical services and other sources Blue Line Futures, LLC believes are reliable. We do not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects our good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that the advice we give will result in profitable trades. All trading decisions will be made by the account holder. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Wheat Futures Analysis: Market Trends and Key LevelsThe wheat prices have witnessed a significant decrease since May 2022.
After analyzing the different market volume profiles of each weekly up and down trend (as presented by the multiple fixed range volume profile histogram in the chart), we can predict the range or the accumulation of the biggest Wheat whales. This range is presented in a white rectangle in the chart and lies between USX BUA .
This range also coincides with the strong monthly support presented by the green line.
The first target of this accumulation is projected to be 760'0 USX BUA , indicated by the red dashed line.
Wheat downside extended, potential buying opportunityPrice has experienced a steep downside price momentum that can now be viewed as extended. This can be measured by comparing the deviation between price and the 50 period exponential moving average (4hour). In addition, there is considerable amount of days closing lower.
Extreme Weather Sends Wheat Prices SurgingWheat plays a critical role in global agriculture and trade. Extreme weather has turned wheat prices bullish, rising more than 22% in a month after having languished for more than two years.
After reaching their lowest level in more than three years in March 2024, prices have rebounded strongly. Wheat rally is driven by extreme weather events in multiple places compounded by supply-demand imbalances.
Wheat rally is far from over. The May 2024 WASDE report painted a surprisingly positive outlook for wheat, suggesting an increase in US production. Outlook may be too optimistic, making revisions likely. Prices face risk to the upside once weather impact is comprehensively reassessed.
This paper posits a long position in wheat options benefiting not only from price appreciation and from expanding volatility.
WASDE PAINTS A POSITIVE WHEAT OUTLOOK
Recent WASDE report provides initial forecasts for 2024/25 marketing year (MY24/25) and updates projections for the current MY. These updates are crucial for estimating ending stocks which will be carried over to the next year.
Global production is expected to grow 1.3% in the upcoming MY to 798.19MT. Projections are even more optimistic for the US crop. USDA expects US wheat production in MY24/25 to be 3% higher YoY and total supplies to be almost 6% higher YoY.
Source: USDA
WHEAT CROPS ARE GETTING IMPACTED BY SEVERE WEATHER
Russia is the largest wheat exporter commanding 24% of total global exports. Russia has been hit by severe frost and cold.
Three of Russia’s key grain producing regions have declared a state of emergency, stating that May frost has caused severe damage to crops, reports Reuters . This year’s crop output will be lower. Frost linked damage follows record hot April which also harmed wheat crops.
The USDA has reduced its outlook for Russian wheat production by 3.5MT which might be an underestimate given widespread damage. WASDE report was released merely two days after Russia declared emergency, leaving USDA with little to no time to assess the impact.
STOCKS-TO-USE NEAR ALL-TIME-LOW
Data Source: PSD
Stocks to Use levels at major wheat exporters is currently at a 16-year low at 13.8%. It is expected to drop further to a record low of 12.4% in the upcoming MY24/25.
Low stocks-to-use ratio suggests that supplies are tight. Ending stocks are low relative to total consumption. Low stock-to-use ratios make prices extremely sensitive to minor shocks in physical markets.
MANAGED MONEY HAVE REVERSED COURSE ON WHEAT BEARISHNESS
Sentiment is shifting rapidly. Asset managers have been net short on wheat futures since 2022. This trend has reversed sharply over the last month with asset managers cutting short positioning by 70%. Net short positioning is at its lowest level since October 2022. Last week, asset managers continued to reduce their short positioning (down 35% over the past month) while also increasing their long positioning.
Source: CME QuikStrike
Bullish sentiment prevails with a put/call ratio of 0.57 in wheat options. Calls dominate both near-term and later contracts. Recent options market trading has been bullish for later expires.
Despite strong rally, implied volatility is lower than the levels seen last year and even during late 2022 signalling potential IV expansion.
Source: CME CVOL
HYPOTHETICAL TRADE SETUP
Wheat faces multifaceted upside risks stemming from weather-driven uncertainty and damage which may not have been factored into USDA’s supply outlook. Wheat supply also faces the risk of disruption from record low stocks-to-use ratio.
Wheat prices are up 22% over the last one month. A long futures position may be impacted negatively by a near-term correction. Instead, a long call position offers limited downside and substantial upside from expanding volatility and rising prices.
TradingView recently launched options suite brings traders a raft of options analytical tools. Wheat options chain can be visualised clearly.
Options IV across a range of expiries to identify key strike levels can also be visualised.
Strategy simulator enables evaluation of various strategies intuitively by visualizing the payoff based on not only price but also expansion or contraction of IV or time-decay.
The above hypothetical trade setup shows the payoff for a simple long call position in OZWU24 contract expiring on 23/August at a strike price of 750.
The premium for this option as of 17/May stood at 33 cents/bushel which results in a premium of USD 1,650 for a full options contract consisting of 5,000 bushels.
The above position breaks even at USc 783. If IV expands by 2%, the position would break even at USc 778.
Assuming constant IV, the:
• trade delivers profit of 1,850, if prices rise to 820.
• option expires worthless leading to a loss of 1,650 if prices remain below strike.
The options simulator features simple and intuitive interface enabling visualization of common options strategies. The tool also enables users to easily create and customize trading strategies.
Alternative to a long call, the bull call spread provides a pre-determined maximum profit and loss. The long call benefits from price rise and volatility expansion.
While short call offsets long call premium reducing potential losses. However, the profit potential is limited because any appreciation beyond the short call strike is negated by equivalent losses from the short position.
Bull Call Spread consists of a long call at a strike of USc 680 and a short call at a higher strike of USc 700. The width of the spread is set at 2 (700-680), a wider range can offer higher upside and reward/risk ratio, but it is only viable when the expected move is large.
MARKET DATA
CME Real-time Market Data helps identify trading set-ups and express market views better. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
DISCLAIMER
This case study is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
Trading or investment ideas cited here are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management or trading under the market scenarios being discussed. Please read the FULL DISCLAIMER the link to which is provided in our profile description.
Inflation & Agricultural Prices - On the Rise Again Inflation is expected to rise again because the prices of staples such as wheat, rice, corn, and soybean meal have been increasing over the last two months. Additionally, we've seen a 20% increase in soybean meal prices since the low in February.
Chicago SRW Wheat Futures & Options
Ticker: ZW
Minimum fluctuation:
1/4 of one cent (0.0025) per bushel = $12.50
Soybean Meal Futures & Options
Ticker: ZM
Minimum fluctuation:
0.10 per short ton = $10.00
Disclaimer:
• What presented here is not a recommendation, please consult your licensed broker.
• Our mission is to create lateral thinking skills for every investor and trader, knowing when to take a calculated risk with market uncertainty and a bolder risk when opportunity arises.
CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups in real-time and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
It's time to reconsider...In today's video I explain why am reconsidering my previous bullishness after I reconsidered the long term technical and fundamental resistance. Technical factors such as long term resistance and fundamental factors such as high supplies in Russia, topped with weak demand and questioning the narrative about the actual effects of the recent dryness concerns in the U.S and Russia. Stay tuned for more! CBOT:ZW1!
Wheat: double top or more to come?Concerns over weather and the potential for climate anomalies have seen a bullish trend in wheat recently. However and as analysts are at pains to point out, fundamentals on the ground like ample supply are still bearish.
But now that wheat has broken through the 200MA in white and consolidated, it's possible that bullish sentiment may remain into the new week. A break back under the 200 that then becomes resistance again will mean that this was another double top, similar to June-July and December 2023. But TA-wise, if the price can stay above the 200 daily until the 50MA catches up, then climate concerns and a golden cross may rally bulls towards the weekly 200MA.
Not financial advice.
Wheat vs 200MA: can it hold?Rain forecasts in Russia have led to profit taking in wheat, but the question remains how bullish (as opposed to short covering) was this rally? If the price can keep its head above the 200MA, TA-wise longs may be worth accumulating.
While professional analysis points out that wheat's fundamentals in terms of oversupply are still very bearish, and thus an opportunity to sell down the rally and possible double-top if the 200MA wins out, it's worth keeping in mind whether another set of fundamentals - increasing yearly odds of extreme climate events and anomalies - has been adequately priced in.
Not investment advice, der.
A cautious market structureAlthough there was a rally later in the day in the S&P 500 which implies buyers moving the market higher going into the close. The overall structure for Friday implies caution if you are on the long side. It's important that the market does not return to Friday's Lows on Monday to maintain momentum for continuation to new highs.
Wheat vs the Daily 200MAWheat has been in a price normalization phase after the potential catastrophe of Russia's full scale invasion of its democratic neighbor. Since June 23, bulls have made several attempt to break and hold the daily 200MA, shown in green circles above. The first four attempts can be read as two sets of double tops. Even if this rally can't hold the 200, chances of another double top are worth considering.
However, unlike the previous double top attempts on the daily 200, the 50MA in orange is turning up towards the 200 and thus a second attempt at a golden cross may not be far off. The 100MA, in light blue, is almost there already, though of less significance.
Record harvests aside, increasing climate anomalies and the depravities of wars of aggression suggest this market may experience volatility going forwards.
As with all my posts, this is not financial advice and you trade at your own risk.