January 14, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Thin gains ahead of holiday weekend

 

 

Corn futures traded at the Chicago Board of Trade settled fractionally higher Friday, bolstered by position squaring ahead of the holiday weekend, sources said. The CBOT will be closed on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

 

March corn settled 3/4 cent higher at $2.13 1/2 per bushel, May corn also rose 3/4 cent to $2.23, and July corn finished 1 cent higher at $2.31 1/2 per bushel.

 

The trade was pretty directionless once we got over Thursday's high, a floor trader said. Position squaring and light fund buying supported the market, but "volume was probably the quietest it's been all week," he added.

 

"It was a dull trade in corn," said Vic Lespinasse, of AG Edwards & Sons. There was a little fund buying to support prices, but there was no news to further support the market, he noted.

 

The firm tone in soybeans also provided support to corn in the absence of any news, a commission house broker said. March soybeans settled 4 1/2 cents higher at $5.76 1/2.

 

On technical charts, March futures remained below their 100-day moving average of $2.18 per bushel.

 

Buyers on Friday included ADM, which bought 2,500 March, JP Morgan bought 2,000 March, O'Connor bought 700 March, the Refco division of Man Financial bought 500 March, and Tenco bought 200 May.

 

Sellers Friday included Cargill, which sold 500 March, ABN Amro sold 200 March, Goldenberg-Hehmeyer sold 500 March, Prudential Financial sold 200 March and Tenco sold 200 March.

 

Commodity fund buying was estimated at 5,000 contracts.

 

Oat futures ended at modestly higher levels with the March contract settling 1 1/2 cents higher at $1.90 1/4 cents per bushel.

 

Ethanol futures finished higher, with the most-active April contract rising 6 /2 cents, settling at $2.30 per gallon.

 

The weekly export inspections report normally due out on Monday will be delayed until Tuesday due to the holiday.

 

Later today, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will release the Commitment of Traders data as of Tuesday, Jan. 10.