May 4, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Outlook on Thursday: 1/2-1 cent lower on outside markets, weather

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are predicted to begin 1/2 to 1 cent lower Thursday as lower outside markets and drier near-term weather are expected to impact the market, sources said.

 

In overnight e-CBOT trading, July corn fell 1 cent to $2.41 1/2 per bushel and December corn also fell 1 cent to $2.65.

 

The outside markets are weaker, the weather is seen drier over the next several days and recent momentum has been on the downside, a floor analyst said.

 

The funds are long what are thought to be a record amount, and the market could see some liquidation, he added. Export sales were better than expected, but usually don't have much of an impact, he added.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly corn export sales of 1.282 million metric tonnes for the week ended April 27, above the 550,000-1.0 million tonnes expected by analysts.

 

Japan was the largest buyer at 562,500 metric tonnes, followed by Taiwan at 282,400 tonnes.

 

In the western U.S. Midwest, mainly dry weather with only a few light showers in the far south areas is forecast over the next several days, DTN Meteorologix Weather said. Temperatures are expected to average below or much below normal in the period, DTN Meteorologix noted.

 

In the eastern U.S. Midwest, mainly dry conditions are forecast through Sunday in the region except for a chance for showers near the Ohio River Thursday and Friday, DTN Meteorologix Weather said. Temperatures are expected to average near to below normal Thursday and below to well below normal Friday and Saturday, DTN Meteorologix Weather added.

 

Deliveries posted against the May contract totaled 2,576 contracts. Issuers included the customer account of Dowd Wescott Group, which issued 480 contracts, the house account of O'Connor, which issued 387 contracts and the customer account of Infinium Capital Management, which issued 300 contracts.

 

Stoppers included the customer account of Man Financial, which stopped 474 contracts, the Dowd Westcott Group, which stopped 408 contracts and the house account of Shatkin which stopped 225 contracts.

 

On technical charts, no serious chart damage has occurred in July corn as prices are in the lower boundary of a trading range, a technical analyst said. First resistance for July corn is seen at Wednesday's high of $2.45 1/2 and then at $2.47 1/2. First support is pegged at $2.40 1/4, last week's low and then at $2.39.