Biggest Ag Commodity Winners and Losers for March
Category: Miscellaneous
(Agrimoney) – Agricultural commodities in March gave back many of their early-year gains.
Hard red winter wheat futures struggled as the drought-hit US southern Plains enjoyed, some, rain relief.
And the soy rally stalled as forecasts for the Argentine soybean crop bottomed out, while a political threat grew, in terms of worries of a China-US trade war, after President Donald Trump unveiled plans for hefty tariffs on up to $60bn in US imports from China.
However, cocoa extended its rally, as fears persisted over a threat from dryness to the Cote d’Ivoire harvest.
And corn prices found support in bumper demand for US exports, plus a late-month US Department of Agriculture forecast for an unexpectedly large drop in US sowings this year.
| Agricultural commodity price performance, March 2018 | |||
| Commodity | Month-end price | Month on month change | Change for 2018 |
| Cocoa (New York) | $2,556 per tonne | +14.1% | +35.1% |
| Cocoa (London) | £1,753 per tonne | +11.4% | +27.2% |
| Corn | $3.87 3/4 per bushel | +3.5% | +10.5% |
| Feed wheat (London) | £143.00 per tonne | +2.7% | +5.0% |
| Soybeans | $10.44 3/4 per bushel | 0.0% | +9.8% |
| Cotton | 81.46 cents per pound | -0.2% | +3.6% |
| Soyoil | 31.87 cents per pound | -0.3% | -3.7% |
| US dollar | 90.085 | -0.7% | -2.3% |
| Bcom index | 87.4729 | -0.8% | -0.8% |
| Soft milling wheat (Paris) | E163.75 per tonne | -1.8% | +3.0% |
| Arabica coffee (New York) | 118.15 cents per pound | -2.4% | -6.4% |
| Robusta coffee (London) | $1,725 per tonne | -2.5% | +0.6% |
| Soymeal | $384.00 per short ton | -2.6% | +22.8% |
| White sugar (London) | $351.20 per tonne | -2.8% | -11.0% |
| Bcom ag subindex | 48.8151 | -2.9% | +2.7% |
| Rapeseed | E348.25 per tonne | -3.4% | +0.1% |
| Spring wheat (Minneapolis) | $5.78 1/2 per bushel | -4.5% | -5.9% |
| Palm oil | 2,430 ringgit per tonne | -5.0% | -2.9% |
| Raw sugar (New York) | 13.48 cents per pound | -5.5% | -18.5% |
| Feeder cattle | 135.60 cents per pound | -6.3% | -7.1% |
| Soft red winter wheat | $4.51 per bushel | -6.9% | +5.6% |
| Live cattle | 113.75 cents per pound | -7.7% | -6.4% |
| Hard red winter wheat | $4.67 1/4 per bushel | -8.1% | +9.4% |
| Lean hogs | 57.25 cents per pound | -14.8% | -20.2% |
| Data for spot contracts, except third-in contract for Kuala Lumpur palm oil | |||
