TOP STORIES:

Corn Long Positions Surge Toward Recent Highs

Large funds have expanded their long positions in U.S. corn futures, bringing their net long position close to a high last seen in February, but before that hadn't been seen in a decade.

Managed money funds added nearly 17,000 long contracts in corn for the week ended April 13, according to this week's commitment of traders report from the CFTC. Net longs among funds totaled over 397,000 contracts.

Soybeans Rise on Weather Concerns

Soybeans for May delivery rose 1.1% to $14.33 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday in reaction to both adverse weather conditions globally as well as limited inventories of soy products such as soyoil. Soybeans largely are coasting off the strength of soyoil, said Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "The soybean complex remains the strength of the ag sector at midday," he said.

STORIES OF INTEREST:

Lack of Chinese Buying Creates Pressure for Grains -- Market Talk

09:28 ET - Yesterday's export sales report from the USDA showed little in the way of new sales to China, which may be a source of pressure for grains futures in trading sessions ahead--particularly for corn. "China has disappeared from the US Corn market, with the second largest economy failing to crack the top five destinations for US corn in the USDA data," says Robert Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA. The USDA last confirmed a flash sale of US corn exports in March, that to an unknown destination. CBOT grain futures are higher in pre-market trading Friday. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

US Oil Rig-Count Continues Steady Climb -- Market Talk

1324 ET - The number of active, oil-targeted drilling rigs in the US rises by seven in the latest week to a nearly one-year-high 344 rigs, says oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The rig-count has been trending higher since August alongside rising oil prices. But the weekly gains in the rig count have been relatively small, and unlike past cycles haven't translated into higher US oil production, which has been stuck near 11 million barrels a day for five straight months. As such, oil markets aren't trading much off the rig-count data, and WTI crude remains a bit lower on the day, down 0.2% at $63.35 a barrel. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

THE MARKETS:

Hog Futures Locked in Slump -- Market Talk

1505 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME finished trading down another solid chunk - this time falling 2.9% to $1.017 per pound. The most-active contract has dropped over 5% in the past two sessions, part of a larger correction seen at the start of the week. "Big long spec positions left the market vulnerable to a more notable correction once prices topped the psychological $100 (per hundredweight) level this spring," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. Meanwhile, live cattle futures closed down 0.4% to $1.19175 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-16-21 1725ET