January 15, 2010

 

Argentina soy prices decline, but less than CBOT losses

Argentine soy prices fell this week, largely tracking movements at the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

However, prices were unchanged on Thursday (Jan 14) from Wednesday (Jan 13), as buyers looking for product paid the same despite a decline in Chicago, the Rosario Grain Exchange said.

 

Buyers fear that the Argentine harvest could be delayed because of wet weather, it said.

 

Earlier Thursday, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said frequent rainfall is slowing the planting of the 2009-10 soy crop. A forecast for steady showers over the next week will keep these last fields from being planted, as farmers wait for better planting conditions, it said.

 

Even so, it said 98.5% of the crop is in the ground and the wet weather is helping with crop development.

 

Soy prices in Chicago fell Thursday  in part because of news that favourable growing conditions in South America will help boost global supplies of the crop, according to the latest numbers of the USDA, released Tuesday (Jan 12).

 

Spot soy traded at ARS990 (US$255) a tonne in Rosario Thursday (Jan 14), down from ARS1,000 (US$258) a tonne a week earlier. Trading volume was 3,000 tonnes.

 

May 2010 soy futures traded at US$225 a tonne in Rosario Thursday (Jan 14), down from US$234 and US$235 a week ago.

 

Spot corn was not traded.

 

March-April 2010 corn futures traded at US$112 a tonne, down from US$120 a week ago due to a decline in global reference prices.

 

Wheat was not traded Thursday on spot or futures markets.