AGS WEEK AHEAD: Speculators Pull Back as Sector Enters Most Bearish Month

By Joe Stonor

A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week of June 1-5 by Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona.

GRAINS & OILSEEDS: Macroeconomic data will drive the outlook for agricultural commodities this week, after speculators sold out of the asset class in droves last week.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due Friday caps a week of employment data that will shape investor expectations for Federal Reserve policy. Weak data would be encouraging for agricultural commodities, as a struggling economy raises the prospect of a more dovish Fed--a typically positive environment for agricultural commodities, analysts at Peak Trading Research wrote

June is the month in which agricultural prices historically fare worst as a result of seasonal factors, the analysts said.

The complex enters the month after a sharp selloff, with hedge funds selling out of agricultural commodities in their largest volumes for 14 months, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly Commitments of Traders report.

However, traders still hold significantly more investments in agricultural commodities than they do against the asset class, raising the specter of a sharp, sudden selloff if investors look to exit their positions in large numbers.

Dry weather forecasts in the U.S. are positive for corn planting.

Wheat futures edged up 0.2% in Chicago to $6.12 a bushel in European afternoon trade Monday, though prices remain close to one-month lows. Corn futures dropped to lows not seen since mid-April, falling 0.8% to $4.43 a bushel. Soybeans were 0.3% lower at $11.83 a bushel after falling sharply over the weekend.

SOFT COMMODITIES:

Cocoa prices steadied last week after a period of volatile trade. The market is balanced between prolonged oversupply weighing on prices on the one hand, and bullish signals--including worries about the quality of the 2026-27 crop--on the other, analysts at Rabobank wrote. Prices edged up 0.1% to $3,899 a metric ton in New York.

Meanwhile, coffee futures slipped to an 18-month low, as drier Brazilian weather supports growth outlooks. In early afternoon U.S. trade, coffee futures were 2.1% lower at $2.60 a pound in New York.

Sugar rallied 3.4% to 14.54 cents a pound, recouping losses over the last week.

Write to Joe Stonor at josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2026 13:01 ET (17:01 GMT)