September 26, 2007

 

CBOT Corn Review on Tuesday: Slightly lower despite early wheat strength

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended with thin losses in narrow-range, choppy trade Tuesday, unable to generate much momentum above or below Monday's price levels.

 

December settled 1 3/4 cents lower at US$3.71 3/4 per bushel and March also declined 1 3/4 cents, to US$3.87 1/4.

 

The market was under pressure from ongoing harvest activity and consolidation after the recent rally but was supported by the gains in wheat futures, said Jason Britt, an analyst at Central States Commodities in Kansas City. Nearby December wheat traded near limit up at one point in day session activity but ended 9 1/2 cents higher at US$8.87 1/4.

 

Corn is a follower of soybeans and wheat so the move higher in wheat helped underpin prices, but when wheat retreated corn slipped, said Britt.

 

The market continues to feel the pressure of the harvest of a record corn crop, an E-CBOT trader said.

 

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 22% of the U.S. corn crop was harvested as of Sept. 23, above the five-year average of 14%.

 

Technically, the market acted tired and there was little fresh news out and a bull market has to be fed every day, the E-CBOT trader said.

 

On daily technical charts, electronically traded December corn traded an inside day, between the high and low established in Monday's activity, and settled below its 200-day moving average.

 

Commodity fund buying was estimated at 1,500 contracts.

 

In open auction trading, Iowa Grain bought 700 December and MF Global bought 500 December.

 

In options trading, Tenco bought 2,000 December US$3.60 puts and sold 2,000 December US$4.00 calls. MF Global sold 2,000 December US$4.00 calls.

 

Oat futures settled with light losses as fund selling and spillover weakness from corn weighed on prices, an analyst said.

 

December oats settled 2 1/4 cents lower at US$2.81 1/2 per bushel.

 

Ethanol futures finished with small losses in thin trade. October ethanol settled 1 cent lower at US$1.54 per gallon and November also settled down 1 cent, at US$1.56.