April 18, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Outlook on Tuesday: Up 1-2 cents on planting pace, e-CBOT

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are expected to begin Tuesday's open-auction session 1-2 cents higher on a supportive weekly crop progress report and firm prices overnight, floor sources said.

 

In overnight e-CBOT trading, May corn gained 2 1/4 cents to US$2.38 3/4 per bushel, July rose 2 cents to US$2.50 1/4, and December increased 2 3/4 cents to US$2.72.

 

The planting pace is a little bit behind last year but near the five-year average, a floor analyst said. Most observers, however, had anticipated the planting pace in the lower teens, he added, so it is a mild concern, but there is a lot of time left to plant and the weather later in the week looks drier, he added.

 

Outside markets might also impact prices, a floor trader said. Silver started out higher but faltered following Monday's rally, gold is mixed and there are concerns about Iran and oil, a floor trader said.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday that 9% of the U.S. corn crop had been planted as of April 16, above the 3% planted the previous week but below the 13% in 2005 and slightly below the five-year average of 10%.

 

In Illinois, 8% of the crop was planted compared to 32% last year and the five-year average of 17%.

 

In Iowa, the U.S. largest-producing corn state, 3% of the crop had been sown, beneath the 5% seeded last year and the five-year average of 5%.

 

In the western U.S. Midwest there is a chance for scattered showers with amounts .10-.75 inch Tuesday and Wednesday before drier weather returns on Thursday, DTN Meteorlogix Weather said. The northwest sections of the region, the Dakotas and northern Minnesota are expected to have rain and thunderstorms with .50-1.50 inches Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures are forecast to average near to below normal west and above normal east on Tuesday.

 

In the eastern U.S. Midwest, it will be mainly dry Tuesday with scattered showers and thundershowers Tuesday evening, Wednesday and lingering into Thursday. Amounts are expected .25-.75 inch and locally heavier, DTN Meteorlogix Weather said. Temperatures are forecast to average above or well above normal Tuesday and Wednesday and near to above normal on Wednesday.

 

On technical charts, first resistance in July corn is seen at US$2.50 and then at Monday's high of US$2.52 1/2, a technical analyst said. He sets first support at US$2.46 1/2, last week's low and then at US$2.44 3/4.

 

In other corn news, Taiwan's Member Feed Industry Group, or MFIG, purchased 60,000 metric tonnes of U.S. corn from Cargill in a tender concluded Tuesday, a trader in Taipei said.

 

Corn futures on China's Dalian futures exchange settled mixed with the January contract settling RMB6 higher at RMB1,403/tonne.