For the past two years, grain and soy futures market prices have been knocking about in a series of relatively narrow price ranges. This is not to say that there has not been price movement, but the degrees it has shown during 2017 and 2018 are at the low end of the volatility scale for the past 11 years. Note the following highs and lows on the continuous charts of front month futures prices:

The simple difference between each high and low does not tell the whole story. Generally, the extent of daily and weekly price movements has been modest. Grain traders, especially the large multinational companies, have consistently cited the lack of volatility and what it signaled about cash markets and supply/demand balances as a reason for the o...