October 22, 2005

 

CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Down on weaker soy values,bird flu concerns

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended Friday with modest losses as spillover weakness from the soy complex and concerns about the spread of Asian bird flu helped keep prices in a narrow trading range, traders said.

 

December corn declined 1 1/4 cents to US$2.01 1/2 per bushel, March corn fell 1 cent US$2.14 1/2 per bushel and May corn slipped 1 cent to US$2.22 3/4 per bushel.

 

"Spillover weakness from the soy complex and worries about the impact of bird flu on corn demand kept prices in negative territory," a commission house broker said.

 

Rain forecast for northern Brazil and technical weakness pushed soybean futures lower. Concerns about the potential negative impact Asian bird flu might have on soymeal demand pressured that commodity.

 

November soybeans declined 12 3/4 cents to US$5.72 1/4, with December soymeal falling US$2.50 per tonne to US$169.40.

 

Seasonal harvest related pressure added to the weak tone, a floor trader said.

 

"There's no reason to own corn right now," a floor trader said. There was some good commercial pricing at the lower levels, but end-users have no reason to buy it here, he added.

 

December corn matched its contract low of US$2.01 during the session but was unable to decline further. March corn did slip to a new life of contract low of US$2.13 3/4, and May matched its contract low of US$2.22.

 

Scattered precipitation in the eastern U.S. Midwest might delay the harvest in those areas before favorable harvest weather returns to the region next week, DTN Meteorlogix weather said. Mostly dry conditions are forecast for the western U.S. corn belt over the next several days, they added.

 

Buyers on Friday included ADM buying 300 December, Cargill buying 500 December, Citigroup buying 1,000 December, O'Connor bought 1,000 December and Tenco bought 1,000 March. Sellers Friday included Goldenberg Hehmeyer selling 200 December, Cargill selling 100 March and FC Stone selling 100 May.

 

Commodity fund buying was estimated at 2,000 contracts on the day.

 

Oat futures settled with fractional losses, with the December contract slipping 1/4 of a cent to US$1.65 3/4.

 

Ethanol futures finished mostly higher on Friday. The January contract did not trade but declined 2 cents, finishing at US$1.78 1/2 cents per gallon.