Info on ag futures, please

K

Kicking

Ok I am getting interested in those products because I sense a big move is coming.

Where do I find a calendar for the crop reports and all the data moving those markets ?

Where do I find info on first notice day for the futures contracts (mini or full size) ?

How come FS data shows May corn in the 700's and CBOT and other providers show it trades at 565 ?

I am gonna trade those on ECBOT, anything I should know regarding hours, limit moves (corn doesn't have any for the front month I understand)? When corn moves fast, can it jump several cents at a time within minutes and how do the minis trade in such conditions ?

Also I don't know anything about ag commodities, what is "disappearance" of corn , and what does "interior basis" mean ? Just some stuff I read in a FS report.
 
Most brokerages can supply you with online or written calendars of reports. Also, report dates are usually noted on the board of trade websites.

Disappearance means "usage" or "consumption". Everyday corn is being milled, distilled, or used as livestock feed.

Interior basis means the difference between the cash market (say Iowa corn for example) and the futures price. Elevators use the futures market as a hedging tool constantly throughout the day. They mark their positions to market and formulate their grain bids by using a "basis" ...meaning the difference between cash and futures. A widening basis, say St. Louis corn going from -5 July to -20 July is a sign of less demand and/or increasing supply.

Minis would be a good way for you to keep your risk smaller as they are only 1/5th the size of the regular contracts. However, the bid/ask spread is wider.

Go slow with your new endeavour...the grain markets are at historical extremes in regards to volatility.

Good luck!
GM
 
Don't bother with minis, they are too small to make money to even cover your commissions unless you're trading long term or hedging something.

Futures trades from 9:30 to 11:15 CST, watch the clock because there is no grace period to exit positions after 11:15.

The first 30 minutes of trading are usually wild and all over the place, exciting for scalpers, risky for position traders.

Most big players are in the monthly spreads or spreads between products (corn/wheat, corn/beans, wheat/beans) or they are trading the crush (beans/oil/meal).

Corn is a pretty slow mover most of the time unless there is big news, then it can and will move multiple cents in 10-30 seconds easily.

Beans move fast, be careful not to get caught with the spreaders.

Wheat is all over the place and very crazy moves, often with wide spreads. Be careful with the bids/offers in wheat 75% of them are not real and will disappear on you :D

Watch the limits, especially in wheat!
 
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