Soybeans 12-10 --

Difficult trading conditions today. Following new highs, which were again reached today, it is fairly typical for the market to trade sideways in consolidation for a few days. Sometimes a minor correction also occurs, as traders take profits following these new highs. These are the prevailing conditions today. I'm glad that conditions like this usually are temporary. But the MUST be expected -- and planned for.

In the past, I have also noticed that during the December Christmas and Hanukkah Holiday seasons, many traders take time off, reducing volume and decreasing liquidity in the markets. This has the effect of increasing market noise. It thus also makes trading conditions more difficult. I don't know if this phenomenon is affecting the futures markets, but is certainly may be today. Open interest is about 1/3 less than it was just one week ago. This reduced activity inevitably leads to market noise and poor liquidity.