September 30, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Finishes lower on profit taking

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures finished lower Friday in choppy, two-sided trade as profit taking near the close eliminated earlier modest gains, source said.

 

December slipped 1 3/4 cents to US$2.62 1/2 cents per bushel, and March declined 2 1/4 cents to US$2.75 1/4. e-CBOT day session volume in December was 70,626 contracts.

 

Friday was the end-of-the-month and the end-of-the-quarter and there was some profit taking after recent price strength, a floor analyst said. A late down turn in nearby wheat futures also added some pressure to corn, he added.

 

The market did soften up near the close as some day traders exited the market late, said Jack Scoville, vice president with Price Futures Group in Chicago.

 

However, this was a market that was up 10 cents on Thursday, and "considering the news, corn had a pretty impressive performance," he said.

 

The quarterly stocks estimate was pretty much right in line with expectations and there wasn't any export news to support the market, he said.

 

On the negative side, it looks to be a pretty clear week ahead for harvesting beyond the few showers expected Saturday, Scoville said.

 

Before the opening, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that fourth quarter corn stocks were 1.971 billion bushels, slightly above the average analyst estimate of 1.967 billion, but below the 2.012 billion carryout in the September supply and demand report.

 

On day-session open auction technical charts, December remained above its major moving averages and traded at its highest level since July 18.

 

Buyers Friday included Fortis, which bought 1,000 December, Fimat which bought 600 December, and Man Financial, which bought 400 December and 300 March.

 

Man Financial sold 1,200 December, JP Morgan sold 1,000 December, Fimat sold 700 December and FC Stonnee sold 500 December.

 

Commodity fund selling was estimated at 2,000 contracts.

 

Oat futures ended mixed, retreating from new life of contract highs set earlier as heavy fund selling on the close reversed the gains, a local trader said.

 

December oats settled 1/4 cent lower at US$2.06 1/4 per bushel and March unchanged at US$2.13.

 

Ethanol futures settled mostly higher in light trade. October ethanol gained 1.5 cents to US$1.765 per gallon and November fell 1.5 cents at US$1.77.

 

Friday afternoon, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled to release the commitment of traders report for the period ending Sept. 26.

 

On Monday, the USDA is scheduled to release the weekly export inspections report at 10:00 a.m. CDT and the weekly crop progress report at 3:00 p.m. CDT (2000 GMT).