Crop Gloom Drags On as Grains Post Worst Losing Streak Since '92

(Bloomberg) -- It looks like grain bulls weren't invited to the commodities party.

While oil and copper are jumping, the Bloomberg Grains Subindex -- tracking returns for corn, wheat and soybean futures -- is set for a fifth straight yearly drop in 2017. That's the longest losing streak in data that stretches back 25 years. Prices for the staples have been plagued by swelling global stockpiles. Export competition for U.S. supply has also intensified as production climbs in South America and the Black Sea region.

Most-active corn futures are headed for a 1-cent a bushel loss this year. While only a small change, the commodity is still poised for a fifth straight annual decline, its worst performance since at least 1960. The grain is the largest crop grown in the U.S., and the slump has strained farm income.

Hedge funds aren't optimistic for the start of 2018, either. Money managers held net-short bets, or wagers on price declines, for soybeans, corn and wheat as of late December.

To contact the reporter on this story: Megan Durisin in Chicago at mdurisin1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Millie Munshi, Patrick McKiernan

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