April 4, 2009
CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Climb on late wheat, soy spillover
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended higher Friday, climbing down-the-stretch on spillover support from soybeans and wheat.
May corn ended up 2 cents at US$4.04 1/2 per bushel, and July corn ended 2 cents higher at US$4.14 3/4 per bushel.
The market chopped around for most of the day, testing both sides of unchanged with positioning ahead of the weekend featured as the market hovered near the pivotal US$4.00 per bushel level.
However, a late surge in wheat and soybeans uncovered speculative buying to push prices to session highs heading into the close, traders said.
The market found support from strong advances in other grain futures, as the inability of the market to find aggressive buying above the US$4.00 levels basis nearby May futures kept buyers in a cautious mood, said Shawn McCambridge, senior grains analyst with Prudential Bache in Chicago.
The market encountered some pre-weekend hedge pressure, with anticipation of farmers unloading some supplies before planting season attracting selling as well, McCambridge said.
Farmers seem to be more bullish on soybeans than corn, and are willing to use corn sales for cash while storing soybeans, he added.
Nevertheless, futures managed to end higher, with technical buys and strength in wheat and soybeans limiting selling pressure.
After a pretty active week, with stocks and plantings reports and volatile outside markets, traders were seemingly content to square some positions and reduce risk exposure ahead of the weekend.
Looking ahead, "cautious activity is seen continuing until futures get into a fundamentally based market when the heart of the Midwest planting season emerges," McCambridge said.
CBOT oat futures finished firmer with the rest of the grain floor. May oats edged up 1 1/2 cents to US$1.99 a bushel, and July oats gained 1 1/2 cents to US$2.08 1/2.
Ethanol futures jumped. May ethanol closed up 0.6 cents at US$1.598 a gallon, and June ethanol closed up 20 cents at US$1.635.
