Corn Futures & Options Commitments of Traders - Week Ending 2026-02-06

Executive summary

This report covers positioning in the Corn futures market for the week ending February 6, 2026. Speculative funds remain significantly net short, although they modestly reduced this bearish exposure during a week of rising prices. Commercial hedgers, or Producer/Merchants, increased their net short position, indicating continued producer selling at current levels. Open interest expanded notably, suggesting fresh capital is entering the market. Swap Dealers absorbed commercial selling pressure, increasing their already substantial net long position. The primary dynamic remains the large speculative short pitted against long-hedging Swap Dealers and a backdrop of active producer selling.

Positioning

• Managed Money: Speculative funds hold a large net short position of -80,613 contracts. This is calculated from 213,807 long contracts versus 294,420 short contracts. While still a significant bearish bet, this is a slight reduction from the prior week's -81,596 net short and a larger reduction from the recent peak short of -90,658 contracts seen on January 16.
• Producer/Merchant: Commercials hold a substantial net short (hedged) position of -207,268 contracts (462,208 longs vs. 669,476 shorts). This represents a larger net short position than the prior week's -202,984 contracts.
• Swap Dealers: This category holds a structurally significant net long position of +260,184 contracts (275,040 longs vs. 14,856 shorts), which is an increase from the prior week. Swap dealers continue to be the primary counterparty to commercial short hedging.

Flows and week-over-week changes

• Managed Money: This group was a small net buyer, adding a net +983 contracts to their position. This was composed of a minor addition to long positions (+910) and a marginal reduction in shorts (-73). This indicates very light short-covering rather than aggressive new bullish bets.
• Producer/Merchant: Commercials were net sellers of -4,284 contracts. They added a significant number of new short hedges (+13,125 contracts) while also adding some new long positions (+8,841 contracts), showing active participation on both sides of the market.
• Swap Dealers: Swap dealers were net buyers, increasing their net long by +4,509 contracts. They added +5,624 new longs against +1,115 new shorts.
• Open Interest: Total market participation increased significantly, with Open Interest rising by +33,428 contracts to a total of 1,740,882. This is the highest level of open interest in the provided historical data.

Commercials vs speculators

The classic positioning dynamic is clearly on display. The Producer/Merchant category is heavily net short, reflecting producers and other physical grain handlers locking in prices for their supply. Their net short position of -207,268 contracts is a dominant feature of the market.

Managed Money is positioned on the other side, but with a net short stance of -80,613 contracts. This is an unusual alignment where the two largest directional players are both net short. The offsetting position is held primarily by Swap Dealers, whose +260,184 contract net long position serves as the primary liquidity provider against the commercial hedging flow.

Open interest and participation

• Total Open Interest stands at 1,740,882 contracts, a multi-week high, indicating a build-up of interest and risk in the Corn market.
• The number of traders in each category shows a broader base for the short side. There are 91 Managed Money traders short versus 63 long. Similarly, there are 324 Producer/Merchants short versus 290 long.
• Position concentration among the largest traders is moderate. The four largest traders account for 6.6% of the net short position, while the eight largest account for 10.2%.

Price context

The price series shows the front-month Corn contract closed at 431.25 on January 30 and rose to 434.50 on the report's as-of date, February 6. The market gained 3.25 cents during the reporting week. The slight net buying from Managed Money (+983 contracts) is consistent with this modest price increase. The fact that prices rose despite an increase in Commercial net selling suggests that buying from other categories (Swaps, Non-reportables) was sufficient to absorb the producer hedging pressure. The strong increase in open interest alongside rising prices is a technically constructive signal.

Risks and watchpoints

• Short Squeeze Potential: The large Managed Money net short position of -80,613 contracts remains a key risk. Any unexpected bullish catalyst could force these funds to cover their 294,420 short contracts, potentially leading to a rapid price rally.
• Producer Selling: The consistent increase in producer short positions suggests they view current price levels as an attractive opportunity to hedge future production. A slowdown in this activity could remove a key source of selling pressure from the market.
• Open Interest Growth: Continued growth in open interest will be a key indicator. If prices continue to rise as OI expands, it confirms that new money is supporting the rally. Conversely, if OI begins to fall as prices rise, it would suggest the rally is driven by short-covering and may be less sustainable.