Grains, soybeans, cattle and coffee: does order flow work in agricultural markets
Agricultural markets have a central order book and real data, but shorter hours of good trading, price limits and strong reactions to USDA reports. Corn and soybeans are best suited to order flow, followed by wheat. The rest are markets for specialists.
Order flow in this group
Grains on the CBOT trade in two sessions: overnight and day, with most trading in the day session. The WASDE report (once a month) and planting reports can move the price by the daily limit.
Livestock futures (cattle, hogs) have short trading hours and fewer participants, so the book is thin.
Softs on ICE (coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton) can make violent moves on thin liquidity.
Instruments (20)
| Instrument | Symbol | Exchange | Tick value | Order flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | ZC | CME (CBOT) | 1 tick (1/4 cent) = $12.50 | Good |
| Soybeans | ZS | CME (CBOT) | 1 tick (1/4 cent) = $12.50 | Good |
| Wheat (Chicago SRW) | ZW | CME (CBOT) | 1 tick (1/4 cent) = $12.50 | Good |
| Wheat (Kansas HRW) | KE | CME (CBOT) | 1 tick (1/4 cent) = $12.50 | Limited |
| Soybean meal | ZM | CME (CBOT) | 1 tick ($0.10) = $10 | Limited |
| Soybean oil | ZL | CME (CBOT) | 1 tick (0.01 cent) = $6 | Limited |
| Oats | ZO | CME (CBOT) | check with the exchange | Limited |
| Rough rice | ZR | CME (CBOT) | check with the exchange | Limited |
| Micro grain futures (MZC, MZS, MZW) | MZ. | CME (CBOT) | check with the exchange | Limited |
| Live cattle | LE | CME | 1 tick (0.025 cent) = $10 | Limited |
| Feeder cattle | GF | CME | 1 tick (0.025 cent) = $12.50 | Limited |
| Lean hogs | HE | CME | 1 tick (0.025 cent) = $10 | Limited |
| Class III milk very low liquidity | DC | CME | check with the exchange | Unsuitable |
| Arabica coffee | KC | ICE Futures US | 1 tick (0.05 cent) = $18.75 | Limited |
| Sugar No. 11 | SB | ICE Futures US | 1 tick (0.01 cent) = $11.20 | Limited |
| Cocoa | CC | ICE Futures US | 1 tick ($1) = $10 | Limited |
| Cotton | CT | ICE Futures US | 1 tick (0.01 cent) = $5 | Limited |
| Orange juice a very thin market | OJ | ICE Futures US | check with the exchange | Unsuitable |
| Rapeseed (Euronext) and canola (ICE) | ECO, RS | Euronext, ICE | check with the exchange | Limited |
| Milling wheat (Euronext) | EBM | Euronext | check with the exchange | Limited |
Other groups
- US stock indices
- European and Asian indices
- Interest rates and bonds
- Currencies (currency futures)
- Energy
- Metals
- Volatility and exchange-traded crypto
- Poland: Warsaw Stock Exchange
- US stocks and ETFs
- Options
- Where order flow doesn't work
- All instruments
Frequently asked questions
Is corn suitable for order flow?
Yes, in the day session. It's one of the more liquid agricultural markets, but with a daily price limit and strong reactions to USDA reports.
What is a daily limit?
The maximum price change in a session set by the exchange. When price reaches the limit, trading can practically stop.
Educational content, not investment advice. Exchanges sometimes change contract specifications (tick size, multiplier, hours): check the current specification on the exchange website before trading. The rating concerns suitability for order flow analysis, not profitability. Leveraged futures involve a high risk of losing capital.