Normally at this time of year, seasonal cotton traders would be looking forward to peeling off a monthlong position in the July delivery that's proved to be a fairly reliable winner. A purchase in the second week of February ordinarily—that is, 80 percent of the time—turns a $1,150-per-contract profit. Or rather, turned a profit.

Real-time Monetary Inflation (last 12 months): 2.3%

Earlier this week ("Add Soft Wheat To Your Hard Asset List"), we noted bottoming action and bullish seasonality in Chicago wheat futures bolstering the price of the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Grains Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSE Arca: JJG).

• Equities beat futures in 2009
• How DBA's lineup has changed
• Why future backwardation isn't a given

Serious foodies know that invert sugar, a mixture of glucose and fructose, is sweeter than the sucrose from which it is derived; traders know how to sweeten profits when the sugar market inverts.

The commodities expert shares his opinions on regulatory issues, the energy markets and the U.S. government's spending spree, among other topics.

• Alternative energy's brilliant future
• Is BRIC just a marketing scam?
• Sugar's sweet scope
   

• LSC vs. DJP: ETNs side by side
• Contango’s impact on both
• LSC’s shifting composition

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), your grocer paid a little less for the food put on store shelves last month. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for finished goods fell 0.9% in July. Contributing to the decline was a 1.5% drop in food prices. Wholesale energy prices also fell last month, dipping 2.4%.

You could say coffee's offered investors a lot more than just a caffeine jolt this year. Take a look at the December contract's chart below. The market for Arabica beans has been a veritable roller coaster ride.