We would agree that there are many fundamental causes for movements in agricultural commodity prices. While it is undeniable that there have been major inflows of funds into the commodity futures markets in recent years, at their heart the derivative markets collectively remain a transparent, near real-time reflection of conditions in the physical, cash markets for agricultural products. Numerous studies, including one by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, have documented this fact. As mentioned earlier, this season’s weather is both a strong indicator of the relation of the futures markets to physical supply and demand and a clear reflection of their valuable function.