April 4, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Review on Monday: Slightly higher as market consolidates

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade finished with fractional gains Monday as the market consolidated after the sharp rally posted on Friday, floor sources said.

 

Volume was modest compared to the record volume posted on Friday, when corn set a single-day volume record of 331,455 contracts.

 

May corn settled 1/2 cent higher to US$2.36 1/2 per bushel, July corn also ended up 1/2 cent at US$2.47 3/4, and December corn ended 1/4 cent higher at US$2.68 1/4.

 

The market was in consolidation mode after Friday's gains, a CBOT floor analyst said. There wasn't much fresh news out, but there was not a lot of interest in selling on Monday, he added. - "Corn is doing its job. It is attempting to buy acres from soybeans," said Vic Lespinasse of AG Edwards & Sons.

 

People are buying new-crop corn and selling new-crop beans, and both soybeans and wheat were lower.

 

Some support was also derived from export inspections which came in at 42.248 million bushels for the week ended March 30, above analysts' expectations of 35-40 million bushels.

 

The corn market has to try and buy acres, and right now it doesn't pay to be short corn, a floor trader added.

 

On technical charts, May corn traded an inside day, within the high and low parameters set in Friday's session and above the upward gap created late last week.

 

Buyers on Monday included Calyon Financial, which bought 2,500 May. Man Financial bought 1,000 May and 400 December; Tenco bought 300 May; Bunge bought 500 May; ADM bought 400 December; and Goldenberg-Hehmeyer bought 200 May.

 

Sellers Monday included JP Morgan, which sold 1,500 May, 500 July and 800 December; O'Connor sold 1,000 May, FC Stonnee sold 900 May, ADM sold 400 December, RJ O'Brien sold 200 December and Man Financial sold 100 May and 200 December.

 

Commodity fund buying was estimated at 1,700 contracts, well below the 60,000 estimated on Friday.

 

Oat futures settled mixed as early buying, thought to be technical in nature dissipated as the session aged.

 

May oats ended unchanged at US$1.73 1/2, and July oats declined 3 cents to US$1.78 3/4.

 

Ethanol futures settled mostly higher. The April contract, which did not trade, settled 5 1/2 cents higher at US$2.62 per gallon, with the May contract up 1 cent at US$2.56.