Stronger dollar hits agriculturals as sentiment weakens

A general strengthening of the US dollar in recent weeks, on expectations that the Fed will begin to raise interest rates this month, has been a key factor dragging agricultural prices lower. Along with ample supply, this has contributed to a further deterioration in investor sentiment. Indeed, the number of net long non-commercial positions for eight of the main agriculturals fell from close to 380,000 in early November to less than 200,000 towards the end of the month.