July 26, 2007

 

CBOT Soy Review on Wednesday: Slides after choppy, directionless session

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended lower Wednesday, backpedaling into the close on light speculative sales after a choppy two-sided session, traders said.

 

August soybeans settled 5 1/4 cents lower at US$8.15, and November soybeans finished 6 1/4 cents lower at US$8.39 1/4. August soymeal settled US$0.40 lower at US$215.00 per short tonne. August soyoil ended 17 points lower at 36.62 cents a pound.

 

A quiet news front provided little direction for prices, as the market consolidated once again, holding in a sideways trading pattern, analysts said.

 

The market has found a price equilibrium, with traders unwilling to aggressively buy into the market amid benign near-term Midwest weather, while sellers and hedgers remain hesitant after recent price declines with the critical growth stage for soybeans still lying ahead, said Brian Hoops, president Midwest Market Solutions in Yanktonne, S.D.

 

Trading volume was light before futures dropped to session lows at the close on position-squaring, private forecasts for potential rain in the Midwest and spillover from wheat, analysts added.

 

The DTN Meteorlogix forecast said crop weather for soybeans remain favorable for most of the Midwest, while continued heat stress is seen in the northern sector of the region - Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. However, there is the prospect of scattered showers in the area during the next few days. There is no significant stress to soybeans in pod-setting and filling stages outside of these areas, Meteorlogix said.

 

On tap for Thursday, the Census Bureau's June crush report is scheduled for release at 8 a.m. EDT. U.S. soybean crush for June is expected to be 148.8 million bushels, down from the May crush figure of 151.8 million bushels. June soymeal stocks are seen increasing to 322,800 short tonnes from the 277,581 reported for May. Soyoil stocks are seen increasing to 3.314 billion pounds in the report from 3.283 billion the previous month.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Analysts predict soybean sales of 100,000 to 500,000 metric tonnes. Soymeal sales are seen in the 40,000- to 150,000-metric-tonne range, and soyoil sales are pegged to fall within a range of zero to 10,000 tonnes.

 

In pit trades, Rand Financial bought 500 November, with Man Financial and ADM Investor Services light buyers on the day. Fimat and Rosenthal each sold 1,000 November, with Man Financial selling 400 November. Speculative fund selling was estimated near 4,000 lots.

 

 

SOY PRODUCTS

 

Soy product futures ended lower, sliding in unison with the late decline in soybeans. Two-sided trade was the order of the day, with a quiet news front and a lack of directive influence in soybeans promoting a mixed tonnee throughout most of the session, analysts said. Soymeal futures traded sideways, unable to attract aggressive action in either direction, traders said. Soyoil experienced similar trading action, testing both sides of unchanged while holding in a sideways pattern on technical charts, analysts added.

 

August oil share ended at 45.99%, and the August crush ended at 60 3/4 cents.

 

In soymeal trades, buyers and sellers were scattered among various commission houses.

 

In soyoil trades, Bunge Chicago and Fimat each bought 300 December, With FCStonnee selling 300 December and Citigroup a seller of 300 September. Speculative fund selling was estimated near 1,500 lots.