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Soybeans:

January soybeans advanced 5.00 cents on volume of 217,274 contracts. Total open interest declined by 1,959 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 50% below average. The January contract lost 11,798 of open interest. As this report is being compiled on December 15, January soybeans are trading 6.50 lower and have made a daily high of 10.55, which takes out the high made on Friday of 10.51.

On December 9, January and March soybeans generated a short-term buy signal, which reversed the short-term sell signal on December 3. However, market action has been a disappointment and rallies have not gotten far. Additionally, the market has been unable to generate an intermediate term buy signal after many attempts over the past month. Another factor hindering the move upward has been the unimpressive performance of soybean meal, which has been the driver of higher soybean prices. We would not all be surprised to see the short-term buy signal be reversed in the coming week.

Soybean meal:

January soybean meal lost $1.90 on volume of 100,750 contracts. Total open interest declined by 1,979 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 20% below average. The December contract lost 30 of open interest, January -8,572. As this report is being compiled on December 15, January soybean meal is trading $1.40 lower and has made a daily low of 362.20. January soybean meal will generate a short-term sell signal if the high of the day is below OIA’s key pivot point for December 15 of $361.90. We think a short-term sell signal is inevitable, and for the rally to continue, January soybeans must make a low above OIA’s key pivot point for December 12 of 373.70.

Corn:

March corn advanced 9.00 cents on heavy volume of 318,371 contracts. Volume was the strongest since November 26 when March corn advanced 4.25 cents on volume of 402,004 contracts and total open interest declined by 17,091 contracts., which relative to volume is approximately 45% below average. The December 2014 through July 2015 contracts all lost open interest, which totaled 8,256 contracts. As this report is being compiled on December 15, March corn is trading 4.00 cents above Friday’s close and is being pushed higher by the strong advance in wheat. March corn remains on a short and intermediate term buy signal.

Chicago wheat:

March Chicago wheat advanced 9.00 cents on volume of 113,193 contracts.Total open interest declined by 1,553 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 40% below average. The March contract lost 2.201 of open interest, July 2015 -325, September 2015 -221. On Friday, March Chicago wheat made a high of 6.13 1/2 while the December contract, which goes off the board shortly advanced 17.25 cents and made a new high for the move of 6.27 1/2. As this report is being compiled on December 15, March Chicago wheat is trading 14.25 cents higher and has made a new high for the move at 6.22 3/4. To the best of our knowledge, there is no compelling news to explain the sharp move higher in the on Monday. The Russians have reiterated they are not going to ban exports, but perhaps the market knows something else. March Chicago wheat remains on a short and intermediate term buy signal.

Live cattle:

February live cattle lost 40 points on volume of 46,416 contracts. Total open interest declined by 3,272 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 185% above average meaning that liquidation was extremely heavy on the modest decline. On Friday, February live cattle made a low of 1.60700, and though this low has not been taken out in trading on December 15, it appears highly likely that an intermediate term sell signal will be generated today. In order for this to occur, the high of the day must be below OIA’s key pivot point for December 15 of 1.62700 and thus far the high has been 1.62450. On December 3, February live cattle generated a short-term sell signal.

WTI crude oil:

January WTI crude oil lost $2.14 on heavy volume of 853,278 contracts. Volume was the highest since December 1 when January WTI advanced $2.85 on volume of 853,819 contracts and total open interest increased by 1,718 contracts. On December 12, total open interest increased by 10,400 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 45% less than average, however the January contract accounted for loss of 21,752 of open interest, which makes the total open interest increase more impressive (bearish). As this report is being compiled on December 15, January WTI is trading $1.39 lower and has made a new contract low of 55.87. As pointed out in the weekend report, managed money is massively long crude oil, and this class of trader must liquidate before a solid bottom can be made.

Natural gas:

January natural gas advanced 16.1 cents on volume of 295,666 contracts. Total open interest declined by 2,052 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 50% below average. The January contract accounted for loss of 21,093 of open interest. As this report is being compiled on December 15, January natural gas is trading 6 cents lower after making a high of 3.936, which took out Friday’s high of 3.826 and is the highest print since 4.026 made on December 2. The move higher occurred in the early part of the evening session on December 14 and natural gas has drifted lower ever since. January natural gas remains on a short and intermediate term sell signal.

Gold:

February gold lost $3.10 on volume of 131,389 contracts. Total open interest increased by 4,551 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 40% above average, meaning a battle ensued between longs and shorts and shorts were able to move the market fractionally lower. As this report is being compiled on December 15, February gold is trading $14.40 lower and has made a new low for the move at 1205.10. On December 11, February gold generated a short-term buy signal, and the market has pulled back for the 2nd day after the generation of the signal. We will be looking for a spot to recommend bullish positions, but for now, stand aside. February gold remains on an intermediate term sell signal.

Silver:

March silver lost 5.5 cents on volume of 33,715 contracts. Total open interest increased by 1,797 contracts, which relative to volume is approximately 110% above average meaning a battle ensued between longs and shorts and shorts were able to move the market fractionally lower. As this report is being compiled on December 15, March silver is trading 48.7 cents lower. On December 11, March silver generated a short-term buy signal, and the market has pulled back for the 2nd day after the generation of the buy signal.

Coffee:

March coffee lost 2.40 cents on volume of 16,116 contracts. Total open interest increased by 82 contracts. The March contract accounted for loss of 509 of open interest. As this report is being compiled on December 15, March coffee is trading 5.10 cents higher on the day.March coffee remains on a short and intermediate term sell signal.