More short covering by big speculators lifted ag markets this week – at least until Friday’s bloodbath in crop futures.

Here’s what funds were up to through Tuesday, Aug. 7, when the CFTC collected data for its latest Commitment of Traders.

Still short

Big speculators were still short ag contracts ahead of the USDA report, even after a furious bout of buying back bearish bets. Funds bought a net 32,435 contracts but were still short 45,826 in crop and livestock futures and options.

Never long

Big speculators trimmed bearish bets in corn by 21,776 contracts as of Tuesday but never quite got long. There were still short 41,857 contracts this week.

Not buying it

Big speculators were wary about soybeans even before Friday’s bearish reports. They added 2,506 contracts to their net short position this week, which stood at 94,406.

All the way

Big speculators sold across the soy spectrum adding to bearish bets in soybean oil, ending two weeks of short covering by adding 805 lots back on to their large short position.

Downsizing

Big speculators were still long soybean meal but cut their holdings by 7,520 this week. That put their net long position at 46,716.

How long?

After selling soft red winter wheat for more than four years, big speculators jumped on the bullish bandwagon earlier this week. They added 10,980 contracts to their small net long position but may be back to even after Friday’s downturn.

Hard sell

Big speculators added 8,250 to their net long position in hard red winter wheat as of Tuesday, bringing it to 34,646. Index funds used by investors to gain exposure to commodities were also buying as some started rolling positions out of the September.

False start

After pushing their bearish bet in spring wheat to a record level, large traders bought aggressively for the second straight week, buying a net 6,155 contracts to flip to a small net long position as of Tuesday. That optimism didn’t last long, however.

Risk averse

Money managers cut long positions in crude oil for the fifth straight week as it looked like the market might be set up for a fall. They sold $565 million worth of crude oil futures and options but crude held despite a surge by the dollar to 13-month highs Friday.