November 16, 2005

 

CBOT Corn Review on Tuesday: Ends lower on fund sales, wheat

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended at slightly lower levels Tuesday as light fund selling late in the session reversed earlier modest gains, a floor trader said. A late selloff in wheat futures added to price weakness, he added.

 

December corn declined 1 cent to US$1.96 3/4 per bushel, March fell 3/4 cent to US$2.10 and May corn slipped 1/2 cent to US$2.18 per bushel.

 

"The bulls have still failed to prove the recent rally had legs," said John Kleist, of Kleist Ag Consulting in Arlingtonne Heights, Ill.

 

Thin farmer selling and improving basis levels in parts of the Midwest supported prices after light followthrough buying from a firm tonnee overnight provided an initial boost, sources said.

 

However, as the session continued, the absence of fresh inputs and the inability of December to take out Monday's two-week high of US$1.99 1/2 led to fund selling, with sales estimated at 3,000 contracts.

 

Wheat futures sold off late in the session, making new life-of-contract lows in December and March. The December contract fell 4 3/4 cents to US$3.07.

 

Rollover activity by commercial firms was noted as they exited out of their December positions early on the firm tonnee in the cash market, a floor manager said.

 

Continued talk of Asian bird flu and its potential impact on corn exports was also noted by several traders with ideas that export sales could remain weak as current sales remain below last year's pace.

 

Buyers on Tuesday included ADM buying 200 December, Fimat buying 1,000 March, Citigroup buying 200 December and ABN Amro buying 100 March.

 

Sellers Tuesday included Tenco selling 400 December, Man Financial selling 300 March, Goldenberg Hehmeyer selling 300 March, R.J. O'Brien selling 100 December, and Fimat selling 100 May.

 

Oat futures settled mostly lower with the December contract falling 1 1/2 cents to US$1.65 1/4 cents per bushel.

 

Ethanol futures ended mostly lower. The January contract did not trade and finished unchanged at US$1.90 1/2 per gallon.