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A market analyst expects volatility to continue

A market analyst is telling farmers to expect volatility through the summer.

Arlan Suderman with StoneX says commodities are trading in a “money-rich” environment boosted by federal stimulus. “A lot more money than what we’ve normally seen. We’ve got expanded position limits that took place on March 15 at the CME Group with position limits 60 to 80 percent higher then when they were depending on the commodity. We’re anticipating big price swings in both directions through this growing season,” he says.

Near-term, he tells Brownfield the markets will be driven by the size of Brazil’s safrina corn crop, Chinese demand, and weather in the U.S. “We have about 50 to 60 percent of the Midwest that has low soil profile moisture levels so we need the extended outlook to show timely rains.”

Suderman says if drought conditions worsen, that will become the primary focus of the market.