March 6, 2010

 

CBOT Soy Review on Friday: Beans post light gains; consolidating trade

 

 

Soy futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended Friday's trading session with light gains, consolidating after Thursday's sharp declines.

 

CBOT March soy ended 2 1/4 cents or 0.24% higher at US$9.34 3/4, and May soy settled 3/4 cent or 0.08% higher at US$9.42 3/4.

 

A quiet news front left the market without any fresh fundamental features, leaving futures following the choppy movements of the U.S. dollar, analysts said.

 

Friday's trading session highlights what the market has experienced for the last month, a range bound non-committal market, said Don Roose, president U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.

 

The market is awaiting fresh fundamental news, with the movements of the U.S. dollar handcuffing the market as traders await a direction providing catalyst, he added.

 

Otherwise, futures had few directives, with participants content to even some positions ahead of the weekend and next week's U.S. Department of Agriculture reports.

 

Looking ahead, traders anticipate the choppy theme will continue until fresh developments from South American markets or new crop planting issues emerge to move the prices.

 

Speculative funds were estimated buyers of 3,000 lots in soy, and 1,000 lots in soyoil. Fund activity is a measure of investment money flow in the market.

 

 

Soy Products

 

Soyoil futures ended modestly higher, managing to find support following Thursday's declines. The market remains in a supportive uptrend, continuing to gain value in the overall soy crush versus soymeal, with spillover support from higher crude oil futures underpinning prices. Adjustments in the meal/oil spread relationship were featured, with optimistic outlooks for increased soyoil use in world markets helping prices stabilize.

 

Soymeal futures ended marginally lower, managing to find some price support in the later part of the trading day after making new 11-month lows earlier in the session. However, upside potential remains limited on slowing domestic and export demand amid expected competition from South America.

 

March soymeal settled unchanged at US$257.90, and the May contract dropped US$0.20 or 0.08% to US$257.70 per short tonne. March soyoil rose 9 points or 0.23% to 39.72 cents per pound, while the May contract settled 5 points or 0.13% at 40.05.

 

May oil share was 43.66% while the May soy crush ended at 64 3/4 cents.