February 2, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Outlook on Thursday: Steady, looking for direction

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are predicted to begin trading Thursday at steady levels, following a quiet overnight session and the lack of fresh news, sources said.

 

In overnight e-CBOT trading, March corn slipped 1/4 cent to $2.16 1/4 per bushel, May corn also fell 1/4 cent to $2.26 1/4 and July corn slipped 1/2 cent to $2.35 1/2.

 

Weekly corn export sales were above expectations, but the market doesn't trade the sales, a floor analyst said. Corn should trade on both sides today, he added.

 

A lot of the direction will depend upon the funds and what they want to do, a commission house analyst said. "If the funds don't buy it, who is going to?"

 

The market will also follow the weather forecast in Argentina for direction.

 

Scattered showers and thundershowers are predicted into Saturday in Argentina, DTN Meteorlogix weather said. In the 6-to-10 day period, temperatures are expected to average above normal with rainfall below normal, Meteorlogix said.

 

Cash corn basis bids were unchanged to lower Thursday morning. Central Illinois was down 1 cent at 2 cents over the March; with St. Louis unchanged at 4 cents over the March future.

 

On technical charts, market bulls still have some upside near-term technical momentum, but this week's high of $2.22 in March is strong overhead technical resistance, a technical analyst said. First resistance for March corn is seen at $2.17 3/4, Wednesday's high and then at $2.19 3/4. First support is seen at $2.15 1/4, Wednesday's low and then at $2.13 3/4.

 

Corn futures open interest at the Chicago Board of Trade, rose by 8,739 contracts on Wednesday according to preliminary data released by the exchange, marking another open interest record.

 

In other corn news, South Korea's Nonghyup Feed Inc. bought 55,000 metric tonnes of U.S. - origin corn from Cargill in a tender concluded Thursday, a company official said.

 

Due to a decrease in plantings, the U.S. Agricultural attach¨¦ in South Africa expects the 2005 corn crop to be 6.5 million metric tonnes, down from the 7.5 million tonnes previously expected.

 

In China, the Dalian futures exchange is closed this week due to the Lunar New Year holiday. Trading will resume on Feb. 6.