Current Commodity Futures Positions - 7/13/08

Another tough one - got to put it in the past, though. Facts are, this system works great when futures are going up, and not so great when they are going sideways/down. And lately, I just haven't been in the particular futures that are going up (oil looked nuts at $110 - who would have thoughts we'd see almost $150 so soon!)

Live Cattle Futures
Keeping the faith - I've been stopped out of most of my live cattle positions. Still like these a lot in the medium/long term, but have to respect the market. Will look to build these up again on strength. These were slightly disappointing, but I may have gotten into these a bit too late.

Sugar Futures
Oil has gone up 12x, from $12 to $144, over the last 10 years. Sugar is sitting at 13 cents, up from a multi-decade low of 5 cents. It's going higher, much higher, at some point in the next 5-10 years.

Cotton Futures
What a giant turd cotton has been for the last two years! Still, I think this turd will have it's day. Who the hell is still planting cotton with $7 corn and $15 beans???

Open Positions

Date Position Qty Month/Yr Contract Strike Call/Put Entry Price Last Price Profit/Loss Market Value Action 06/17/08 Long 1 DEC 08 Cotton 82.20 73.65 ($4,275.00) 06/19/08 Long 1 FEB 09 Live Cattle 116.200 112.500 ($1,480.00) 06/18/08 Long 1 OCT 08 Sugar #11 12.88 13.97 $1,220.80 07/01/08 Long 1 OCT 08 Sugar #11 13.90 13.97 $78.40 Net Profit/Loss On Open Positions: ($4,455.80)

Account Balances
Current Cash Balance	$85,756.63
Open Trade Equity	($4,455.80)
Total Equity	$81,300.83
Long Option Value	$0.00
Short Option Value	$0.00
Net Liquidating Value	$81,300.83

Cashed out: $15,000.00
Total value: $96,300.83

Weekly return: -7.5%
YTD return: 22.6%

***BTW, I usually "cash out" money just to pay for taxes, rent, and cheap beer. So total value is all pre-tax.