"All market operators call Soya Bean May the 1st month with a settle price yesterday of 984

"Soya Bean July the 2nd month with a settle price yesterday of 993
Soya Bean August the 3rd month with a settle price yesterday of 988.75

"In the charts you call July the 1st month and August the 2nd month.

"I can only repeat that I find this confusing. I just bought real 1st month and think I should have bought real 2nd month because of the backwardation."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this informative email and for raising these points, which may also be of interest to other subscribers. Our policy for all futures contracts is to roll with the most active contract. Open interest for July soybeans is now at 190,000 contracts versus 90,000 for the May so the contract was rolled forward. Even though the May contract does not expire for another few weeks, open interest will continue to decline. IG Index told me that they will no longer be quoting the May contract from close of business today. We firmly believe that rolling contracts with the most active future is the most suitable method which can be applied across all of the markets we provide charts for regardless of individual idiosyncrasies.

Soybeans remain an outperformer among the grain and bean complex. Soybeans, corn, wheat, oats and rough rice prices all collapsed from historic peaks in 2008 and remain in Type-3 base formations characterised by volatile ranging. All have fallen quite sharply over the last two months and appear to be finding support at the lower side of their bases. Soybeans is the only one to have moved into backwardation and has sustained a progression of higher to equal reaction lows since November 2008. It has firmed once more and a sustained move below 900¢ would be required to question potential for at least a retest of the upper side of the range near 1100¢.

Soybean Meal retested the 2008 lows in mid-March but has rebounded and would need to sustain a move below 260¢ to question scope for continued higher to lateral ranging. Soybean oil continues to outperform both meal and beans. It is currently testing the January high near 42¢ and a downward dynamic would be required to question potential for additional upside.