The Corn Exit: Hedge Funds Cut a Record Long by 40% in Four Weeks
Long story short: Hedge funds held the biggest corn long on record in mid-September. Four weeks later, they have cut it by 40%, almost entirely by selling longs. In June, they took apart an earlier long even faster.
In this story
Watch this storyLong Story Short, Episode 2 · from 0:58on YouTubeSource: CFTC Disaggregated report, futures only, weekly from May 5 to October 13, 2026.
In mid-September, hedge funds held the largest corn long on record. The CFTC reports them together with commodity trading advisers as money managers. On September 15, that group was net long 414,460 contracts, the most since its data began in 2006. The old record of 409,444 contracts dated from March 2011.
Four weeks later, 168,035 of those contracts are gone. As of October 13, money managers are net long 246,425 contracts, about 40% less than at the peak. The latest week alone took off 83,414 contracts, one of the twenty largest weekly declines since 2006.
Selling Longs, Not Betting Against Corn
The Disaggregated report shows how the long shrank. Since September 15, money managers closed 153,494 long contracts and added only 14,541 shorts. More than nine in ten contracts of the decline came from longs that were sold.
Money managers are not betting against corn. They are leaving the trade.
The number of money managers on the long side fell as well, from 120 on September 15 to 94 on October 13. Their shorts, at 83,819 contracts, remain far below the 383,547 they held in late June.
The Second Exit This Year
This is not the first large corn long that money managers have taken apart in 2026. In early May, they held 344,641 contracts net long. Seven weeks later, on June 23, they were net short 74,819. In the four weeks to June 16, their net position fell by 342,829 contracts, the largest four-week decline since 2006.
Then the long came back. From a small net short in early July, money managers bought their way to the record by mid-September. In ten weeks, their position swung by almost 430,000 contracts. The current exit is moving at a similar speed in the other direction: the long that took ten weeks to build has lost 40% in four.
The Other Side of the Trade
Every long in futures has a short on the other side. In corn, much of that side belongs to the commercial trade: grain merchants, elevators, processors and the farmers who hedge their crops. The Disaggregated report counts them as producers and merchants.
On September 1, producers and merchants were net short 800,143 contracts, the largest short since 2006. Since then, they have bought back about 200,000 contracts. As of October 13, their net short stands at 600,489.
Commercial positions are mostly hedges, and they tend to move against the speculators. Over the past six weeks, the two sides moved almost in step. The commercial short shrank by about 200,000 contracts while the money managers’ long shrank by about 155,000.
Faster Than After the Earlier Peaks
A falling long is not a signal that the selling will continue. Positioning can stay large for months. The COT Index shows how stretched a trade is, but not when it ends.
The three earlier peaks still give a sense of scale. Four weeks after the peak of March 2011, the long was 26% smaller. After April 2021, it was 22% smaller, and after March 2022 only 2%. This time, it is 40%. In all three earlier cases, money managers held about half of their peak long or less within six months. Three examples do not make a rule, but they show how this position has unwound before.
Source: CFTC Disaggregated report, futures only, weekly from January 2010 to October 13, 2026.
The chart also shows how far this market swings. In July 2024, money managers held the opposite record: a net short of 356,415 contracts, the largest corn short in the data.
Soybeans Have Not Followed
The selling has not reached the soy complex. In soybeans, money managers are net long 249,807 contracts, close to the record of 265,159 they set on September 22. Soybean meal, the subject of last week’s story, also stays close to its record long.
What to Watch Next
- The shorts. So far, money managers have mostly sold longs. Rising shorts would turn the exit into a bet against corn.
- Producers and merchants. Their short has shrunk by a quarter since September 1. A further decline would show the commercial trade still buying back hedges.
- Soybeans. Whether the selling spreads to the soy complex, where money managers still hold near-record longs.
Source: CFTC Commitments of Traders, futures only, positions as of Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Money managers and producers come from the Disaggregated report.
