Corn has been one of the sharpest risers in the broad rally in raw materials that is prompting companies to boost prices for goods and fueling concern among investors that inflation could hobble the economic recovery.
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Prices for corn have risen 50% in 2021 and a bushel costs more than twice what it did a year ago
Investors have pumped money into commodities, a popular move aimed at offsetting inflation risk elsewhere in their portfolios. Open interest in agricultural commodity futures, a measure of trading activity, rose last month to a record $315 billion, according to JPMorgan analysts.
David Martin, chief investment officer with Martin Fund Management, said the New York commodity trading firm began placing bullish bets on corn prices last fall and is currently trading derivatives with an eye toward even higher prices. “If the weather isn’t pristine…there’s going to be massive shortages,” he said.
Wagers that corn prices will rise—by hedge funds and other speculators—outnumber bets on a decline 17 to 1, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission data