April 14, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Review on Thursday: Corn little changed on position squaring

 

 

Corn futures traded at the Chicago Board of Trade finished little changed Thursday, shrugging off weather forecasts favorable to corn planting and early technical selling, sources said. Position squaring ahead of the long weekend was the dominant feature.

 

May corn declined 3/4 cent to US$2.36 1/4 per bushel, July slipped 1/4 cent to US$2.48 1/2, and December finished 3/4 cent lower at US$2.68 1/2.

 

Good planting weather pressed prices on the opening, a commission house analyst said, with continued ideas that additional corn acres would be seeded above the recent U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate.

 

Light technical weakness also weighed on the market early, he added. However, the lack of additional selling interest led to position squaring ahead of the weekend with the CBOT closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.

 

Several traders noted volume was smaller than in previous trading sessions, with the rolling out of the nearby contract as part of the "Goldman roll" light compared to Wednesday.

 

"Corn's down for the week because of the bearish weather and the funds have been either absent or light sellers," a floor trader said.

 

Fund buying was estimated at 1,000 contracts.

 

Weekly corn export sales had little market impact, sources said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales at 922,400 metric tonnes for the week ended April 6, slightly above analysts' estimates. The total included 814,700 tonnes for delivery in 2005-06 and 107,700 tonnes for 2006-07.

 

Mainly dry conditions are forecast for Friday and early Saturday in the western U.S. Midwest corn belt, DTN Meteorlogix Weather said. A chance for showers or thundershowers are forecast for Saturday night into early Sunday, favoring the eastern sections with rainfall amounts averaging .10-.75 inch and locally heavier. Additional light showers are predicted Sunday night into Monday, Meteorlogix Weather said.

 

In the eastern U.S. Midwest, scattered showers and thundershowers are predicted over the next several days and into weekend for the northern and eastern areas of the region, DTN Meteorlogix Weather said. Rainfall should average .25-1.00 and locally heavier. Mainly dry weather returns during Monday. Temperatures in the region will average well above normal, DTN Meteorlogix Weather said.

 

Buyers Thursday included ABN Amro, which bought 1,200 July; Man Financial bought 1,000 December; JP Morgan bought 500 May; RJ O'Brien bought 1,300 July and 500 May; Rand Financial bought 400 May; and UBS bought 300 May and 300 December.

 

Sellers Thursday included ADM, which sold 500 May and 100 December; JP Morgan sold 1,700 December; Citigroup sold 800 December; FC Stonnee sold 300 December; and Fimat sold 400 May and 100 December.

 

Oat futures ended mostly higher as position evening steadied prices in modest trade. May oats gained 3/4 cent to US$1.72 1/2 per bushel and July also rose 3/4 cent to US$1.77 1/2.

 

Ethanol futures settled mixed. The April contract did not trade and settled 2 1/2 cents lower at US$2.70 1/2 per gallon. May ended 1 cent higher to US$2.71. June, which did not trade, fell 5 cents to US$2.69.

 

On Friday, the CBOT is closed in observance of Good Friday. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled to release the Commitments of Traders data as of April 11 on Friday afternoon.

 

On Monday, the USDA is scheduled to release the weekly export inspections, and Monday afternoon the weekly crop progress report is scheduled to be released.