August 16, 2007

 

CBOT Corn Review on Wednesday: Mixed in choppy trade; low volume

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended mixed Wednesday in a low volume, choppy trade.

 

"It was a choppy trade with corn going nowhere," said Don Roose, president of US Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Sep corn rose 1/2 cent to US$3.28 per bushel, Dec gained 1/4 cent to US$3.45 1/4 and Mar ended unchanged at US$3.60 1/2.

 

The unwinding of wheat-corn spreads put on earlier helped provide some support for corn, Roose said.

 

Corn moved to session highs near midsession on light buying interest as soybeans rebounded from moderate losses, but December could not trade above its 40-day moving average and prices fell back to near unchanged levels, an analyst said.

 

December corn remains "caught" in a trading range between US$3.51 and US$3.41 per bushel, said Roose.

 

Improving weather conditions helping corn fill kernels acted as an "anchor" to upside price direction with forecasts for additional moisture in the near term in the U.S. Midwest also limiting the upside, a trader said.

 

Rainfall in parts of the northern and central U.S. Midwest is expected to continue over the next several days, benefiting the corn and soybean crops, DTN Meteorlogix Weather said. Southeastern sections of the region and the U.S. Delta are expected to remain dry in the near term, Meteorlogix Weather said.

 

On daily technical charts, electronically traded December settled below its 10-day moving average, but above its 20-day moving average. Fortis bought 500 December and FC Stonnee sold 300 December. In open auction trading, Fortis bought 500 December and FC Stonnee sold 300 December.

 

In options trading, MF Global (formerly Man Financial) bought 500 Dec US$3.40 puts, and sold 500 Dec US$3.10 puts and 500 Dec US$3.70 calls.

 

Oat futures settled mixed in thin trade as the market is waiting on reports of the Canadian oat harvest for direction, a floor trader said.

 

Sep oats gained 1 1/2 cents to US$2.49 1/2 per bushel, Dec fell 2 cents to US$2.58, and Mar ended up 1/2 cent to US$2.70.

 

Ethanol futures ended mostly higher in very light trade. Sep ethanol gained 3.4 cents to US$1.854 per gallon and Oct settled 1 cent higher at US$1.745.