Russian Food Ban sends Livestock Futures Reeling

Russia has announced a retaliatory ban on food products from nations supporting the sanctions that were imposed on it in response to the ongoing events in Ukraine.

Personally the food ban is going to do nothing except to hurt their own citizens by driving up the cost of food there but it has just knocked a huge chunk of profitability out of the pockets of US livestock producers.

Here are the cattle and hog charts. You can see the carnage that the ban has produced. August cattle are limit down. Feeders were down the limit but have managed to bounce slightly. There is some buying coming into the August  fats as it pops off the limit but selling remains heavy at the moment.

Hogs are getting sucked into the downdraft with the impact being felt more so in the 4th quarter contracts rather than the August which is already deeply discounted and goes off the board next week.

This is the reason that I have been suggesting to both cattle and hog producers for some time now to secure downside hedge protection on expected Q4 production. As a producer, you simply do not have the luxury of staring record profits in the face and not doing a single thing to LOCK IN those profits and GUARANTEE yourself some outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime profits on your product. One never knows what sort of event came come out of the clear blue sky and strike. In a single moment, all of those profits have now gone up in smoke, vanishing, never to be regained. Speculators can play this game but not producers. You are in business to make profits; not risk them. Take them while they are there and lock them in when you can, not when you have to. Remember that if you are a producer of any sort.

My own view is that the market overreacted to the news since Russian red meat demand from the US has lost quite a bit of the significance that it once held over our markets many years ago. I recall trading hogs one year in which Russia announced a ban on US chicken. That sent the entire hog industry into a state of collapse ( it was back in 1996 if memory serves me correctly).

Our export markets have grown considerably since then with a large array of good and reliable importers from abroad. However, old habits die hard and the knee-jerk reaction was to sell first and ask questions later. Once that occurred, the fund computers took over and that is pretty much all she wrote for the rest of the session.

A quick note - The US Dollar is back up there knocking on that overhead resistance door near 81.66 basis the USDX. Safe haven buying is supporting the Dollar as well as bringing buying into gold and the US bond market. If the Dollar does managed to stage an upside breakout, I suspect gold is going to struggle once geopolitical issues fade.

As said many times here of late, gold bulls are basking in the geopolitical fears around Ukraine. As long as that is on traders' radar screen, the metal will hold as it will find dip buyers. If that event were to lose its significance in the minds of traders ( and unless one has an infallible crystal ball and unerringly knows the future when that might occur ) look for selling pressure to hit the metal. Until IF/WHEN that happens, support is intact under the market. All I can say is that traders who believe the Ukranian fears are overrated are going to be selling this rally. Those who look for the situation to worsen, will be buying the dips. One side or the other will eventually be correct. So unless you infallibly know the future, be careful but above all, ignore EVERYONE who is making price predictions about the metal. They know nothing further than any of the rest of us how all this will play itself out.

Beneficial rains are bringing pressure on the grain markets this morning after they experienced a "Ukranian bounce" in yesterday's session. Weather across the Midwest looks ideal for corn and beans to finish up. Corn is essentially made at this point. With beans ahead of last year's pace, the August weather thus far has been almost perfect. Tight old crop supplies in the hands of domestic crushers is supporting the bean market for the time being. Crushers are not turning loose of those beans and that has so far resulted in no deliveries against those August contracts that are in their delivery period. This is going to be interesting to see as the basis weakens.

My own personal view is that the crushers who are holding those beans back are propping up the entire bean market, both old crop and new crop. That is keeping farmers from selling but it is also going to be an important factor as S. American farmers get ready to plant down there. With beans being out of whack price wise against corn, odds would favor more acreage going to beans at the expense of corn. I am concerned that a huge crop here in combination with the potential for huge acreage going to beans down in the Southern Hemisphere, could leave a large number of US farmers stuck with very little in the way of downside price protection at the same time available storage is in going to be strained.

I cannot tell US crushers how to run their business but I believe that they are going to end up hurting many US farmers as they play this game of chicken with the market.

More Selling hitting Commodities

One look at the chart says it all:

A fresh 6 + month low was made in the commodity sector earlier this AM.

Some might recall a while back I mentioned that the forward curve in the commodity markets was suggesting LOWER prices ahead, not higher prices, as the backwardation that existed in some of the major futures markets was dissolving with the structure moving more towards the typical contango structure. That was especially true between the old crop ( 2013) / new crop grains spreads.

With the US Dollar attempting to gain some further upside traction and with the commodity indices plunging, as well as the idea that interest rate hikes are coming to the US sooner rather than later, the headwinds against gold are gathering.

Gold bulls had best be thanking their lucky stars for all the geopolitical risk in place right now. Were it not for that, it is unlikely gold would be maintaining itself above key support near $1280.

I noticed that we finally got an updated number for the gold holdings in GLD yesterday. The number had not changed for nearly a week. The new number is a DECREASE of some 1.8 tons. Interestingly enough, the newly reported 800.05 tons is about the same amount that gold holdings have increased since the last business day of 2013 when the ETF reported holdings of 798.22 tons. Another way of saying this is that over the last 7 months, there has been a increase in gold holdings of a paltry 1.8 tons. Clearly Western-oriented investor demand for gold is comatose at the current time. Perhaps that will change as we move forward into Q3 of this year but that remains yet to be seen. With Chinese demand falling off and with Western investment demand on the wane, gold bulls need something to spark this market. It is very sad but that essentially means that they are either going to have to wish for, and even pray for, bad news for someone.

Knock, Knock, Knock... Here it Comes once more

By that, I am referring to the US Dollar, as portrayed by the USDX. The greenback is once again knocking on the door at the top of a nearly year long trading range. That door is up near the 81.65 level. The bottom of the range is near 79.

The week is not over yet but this far the last month has seen the Dollar firm and garnering strength as more and more traders/investors are coming around to the view that the Fed will be the first among the Western industrialized nations to raise interest rates. Today's Service Sector ISM reading did nothing to disabuse them of that notion as it was very strong; stronger than expected in actuality.

Here's the chart...

If the Dollar can manage to finally put up a Weekly CLOSE above that zone noted, it can easily run another full point and should be able to even make a push to 83. We'll see what we get come Friday of this week.

The number sent the Euro reeling. It fell through last week's low and is currently sitting right on support near 1.3370. Failure to hold here should allow a move to the stronger level of support centered near 1.330.

Once again, for the umpteenth time, the usual price predictions from the same culprits ( who never seem to tire of pulling this sort of stunt ) that silver was about ready to experience a massive short squeeze any day now have failed to materialize. I am pleading with any of the readers here at my site who continue to give these charlatans the least bit of credibility to please ignore them and study the price charts for yourself.

Here is a simple fact - they no more know the direction or the timing of the next move in silver, or for that matter any other market,  than anyone else on this planet. That they hold themselves out as those who do is cause for embarrassment and for shame but then again, when it comes to puffing up themselves like peacocks , some have no shame. Ignore them and let them go on making fools out of themselves but do not base your investment strategy around the claims of such people. They CANNOT BE UNBIASED because their livelihood depends on creating demand for their products or services. Remember that.

The charts are your friends. You may not like them or may not agree with the charts, but fighting them is a hopelessly quixotic errand that will cost you very, very dearly. I have been at this business for over a quarter of a century and while there are some markets that I know very well and trade daily, I still do not have the temerity to suggest that I know exactly when they are going to make a move or to what extent. If I did, Bill Gates would have a rival for one of the world's richest men.

The best of us are still mere mortals. Some have more experience than others and are perhaps a bit wiser but we are not omniscient. There is only ONE who is.

As said many times here before, the grace of humility is much more befitting of a successful trader than arrogance and unbounded hubris.

Weekend Comments

If you want to see what the obstacles are to gold embarking on a new, sustained, sharp upward trending move, take a look at the following set of charts.

The first is one drawn from the Commitment of Traders reports. It denotes the TOTAL OPEN INTEREST. I use this to get a sense of money flows either into or out of, a commodity.

The dark line is the total open interest. Can you see what it has been doing since the peak in the gold price back in 2011? It peaked well over a million contracts of futures, plus options. This week it had nearly fallen to nearly one half of that record level!

What does this tell you? Answer - "interest" in gold as an asset class among Western-based investors has plunged over the last three years.

What has been the result? Answer - the gold price has also plunged.

Inference - speculative demand drives gold prices. If that demand falls, so too does the gold price. If that demand rises, so too does the gold price. There is nothing sinister about any of this as those constantly crying up "manipulation" would have you to believe . It is a function of demand or the lack thereof.


Here is the next chart to consider. It is the reported holdings of the large gold ETF, GLD.

The amount of reported gold holdings in the trust at the end of last year was 798.22 tons. The yet to be updated amount reported as of this Friday's close was 801.84 tons. That amounts to a rather lackluster increase of a mere 3.62 tons in eight month's time. Hardly the stuff of legends now is it?

The point in this is to illustrate SENTIMENT. Frankly as a trader I try not to get too bogged down in intricate details when looking at things like this. I want to try to glean whether or not an asset class is in favor among the big speculators that dominate our markets. If it is, I want to be with them. Trying to fade them and play the "contrarian" is a surefire method to lose money. One has no idea when they are going to shift. You can observe their buying or selling and try to anticipate what they are going to do, but until you get a clear signal, do not act, unless of course you enjoy donating your wealth to them on a regular basis.

There seems to be a mindset among some reckless individuals that a successful trader is "brave, daring to go against the masses and take the other side of a popular trade". They seem determined to prove to themselves how noble they are or some other such nonsense by so doing.

 You see it all the time... "prices have fallen so much that it is time to buy". It is said that " a fool and his money are soon parted". That is never so true as in the trading arena, and particularly in the commodity futures world. How do you know that the price cannot fall further? Or how to you know that the price cannot rally higher if you are shorting a market? Answer - you don't. Now of course you can roll the dice and gamble that you are correct but trading is not gambling. I would suggest that if you want to gamble that you exit the trading profession and become a full time player in Vegas. If you are going to lose your money, you might as well do it surrounded by beautiful women and good food and music! It sure beats giving it to some nameless hedge fund manager and his pet computer.

Switching gears here - I mentioned that I wanted to see this week's COT reports for corn to determine whether or not the big speculators were still on the net long ( AND WRONG) side of the corn market or whether they might have finally made the transition to the short side. Guess what? They are still long and wrong! I continue to find this nothing short of astonishing. I have seen a lot of bull and bears markets in the commodity sector in my time but I cannot remember very many of them in which the largest specs had missed out and were on the wrong side of a major trend.

This corn market therefore astonishes me.

Take a look at the chart...

Now look at the positioning of both the hedge funds and the other large reportables. Both of them are still net long

You will observe that the hedge fund net long position peaked in April of this year when corn stalled out near $5.20. Since then it has fallen nearly $1.70/ bushel.

The hedgies began building their net long position back in November of last year when corn prices were in the general vicinity of $4.20. Prices have fallen another $0.70 since then meaning those hedge funds who bought in last November and who are still long are seriously underwater on their trades. One would have thought that once that entry level was violated on the charts, their computers would have taken them out. Apparently not so.  

Not to be outdone, the other large reportables have been net long corn since the days of Noah. They too are getting their butts handed to them. The little guys however, the small speculators, the ones that are constantly being mocked by the big specs as being the "dumb money" have been taking the large specs money from them as they have been short this market for a long time.

Obviously I am speaking in generalities in the sense of "categories" since not all hedge funds are losing money ( some are indeed short as are some of the other large reportables) but the point is being made that sometimes even the large specs screw up royally in a trade.

My question at this point is whether or not the big speculators are ever going to actually move to the net short side of this market. They did so in the soybeans but have not yet done so in the corn. If they do, and I have no way of knowing whether or not they will, there is a fair amount of further downside in the corn market. Maybe they will essentially move to being flat and that will do it for their selling but even if they do that, we could easily see corn drop another $0.20/bushel from current levels, if not more.

I would think that end users would look at prices at that level as being so cheap compared to recent years that they would trip over themselves to get long side coverage. Ditto goes for the export buyers but I have learned that low prices can always go even lower. We will just have to watch the price action and see what the market is telling us.

Still, this is one of those charts and years that I am planning on not forgetting. A huge bear market in which the largest speculators have missed the move lower and were on the wrong side with the small speculator reaping the reward.

Another Day, Another Sharp Fall in Commodity Prices

The Goldman Sachs Commodity Index is currently down 2.4% on the year. Grain and energy prices are continuing their descent. Meat prices are following. As written many times here over the past couple of months, meat prices will be coming down by the time we reach the 4th quarter. They are already breaking down at the wholesale level.

Seriously, I would like any OBJECTIVE reader to take one look at this chart and then tell me, with a straight face, that inflationary pressures are on the rise as it relates to the cost of tangibles.

If that is not enough, here is a chart of the Unleaded Gasoline.

It has retraced exactly 61.8% of the price move made since late November of this year to the peak near $3.15. You'll notice that it managed to spend about a week consolidating at the half-way or 50% retracement level before it puked lower. If it does not hold here, it should see a further leg lower towards $2.66.

 As a consumer at the gasoline pump, I am delighted to see this chart. It means I have more disposable income with which to buy ridiculously high-priced beef for throwing on my pit smoker the rest of this summer. I am however looking for some good bar-b-q methods for caviar since there seems to be little difference in price between fancy fish eggs and brisket.

Quite frankly, if gold is going to get some help for its upside, it had best not be looking at its fellow commodity markets as they are acting as a weight on it. Gold must function as a monetary metal at this point if it is to trek higher and that means it is going to require geopolitical events or currency distress somewhere to get speculators in a mood to chase it. Today's decent but lower than expected payrolls number, took some of the sense of urgency out of this week's talk that the Fed was going to move on the interest rate front sooner rather than later. That was shelved by the jobs number today and in conjunction with the breaking of the ridiculous cease-fire in Gaza, along with some further tensions tied to Ukraine, there were some safe haven flows back into gold, and into bonds, I might add, in today's session.

The Dollar ran into some selling today when the payrolls number came out for the reasons listed above. The weaker than expected reading took some of the "hike in interest rates" premium out of the greenback. It especially allowed the safe haven bid that showed up today to be seen in the Japanese Yen which once again refuses to move in the same direction for any time frame longer than a couple of weeks.

Equities are currently weaker as I type these comments but are off their worst levels of the session. The Russell 2000 is moving back down to the bottom of its recent range trade between 1210 on the top and 1100-1090 on the bottom. The RSI is at a level commensurate with previous recoveries in price. Only if this index does not bounce off of the bottom of the range can we say that a more substantial break in price is underway. Some are already talking bear market but the index would need to fall below 1090-1080 to have experienced a drop of more than 10% off its best level and provide confirmation for that sort of talk. In other words, it is premature to say that a significant correction is underway. Further price and chart action is required for confirmation. Until then, the odds favor a continuation of the existing trend or price action and that has been either higher or range bound.

There are still plenty of equity bulls around who want to buy dips at this point. Price action will have to prove them wrong. So far, they have been right.

I will go over some of the COT stuff later on today. I am especially interested in seeing whether or not the hedge funds are still net long in the corn market, even after the $1.70 decline since May. I find the fact that they were still on the net long side of this market last Friday almost too much to believe. Talk about blowing a call on market direction!

Wheat prices have steadied as harvest pressures subside somewhat with KC wheat leading Chicago. Beans are seeing more pressure as the benign weather and forecasts calling for more of the same, continues. The market is still being supported only by tight old crop supplies but once harvest kicks in and moves north, basis levels are going to fall apart in my view.

More later....