November 23, 2005

 

CBOT Corn Outlook on Wednesday: Flat ahead of the holiday

 

 

Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are expected to begin Wednesday's open auction trading at steady levels in a quiet session ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday with little fresh news to move the market in either direction, sources said. Trading will end at 12:00 CST (1800 GMT) both Wednesday and Friday.

 

In overnight e-CBOT trading, December corn slipped 1/4 cent to US$1.91 1/4 per bushel, March fell 1/4 cent to US$2.05, and May also declined 1/4 cent to US$2.13 1/4 per bushel. March Corn becomes the lead contract month Wednesday morning.

 

Corn is stuck in narrow ranges with the recent pattern likely to continue, said John Kleist, of Kleist Ag Consulting in Arlington Heights, Ill. The market will keep bobbing around contract lows until we reach a level to spark demand, he added.

 

In the last four trading sessions March corn has traded within a 2-cent trading range as the lack of fresh news and holiday markets combined to keep prices within thin ranges.

 

Scattered precipitation for much of Argentina's corn region is forecast for the near term with drier conditions expected over the next several days, DTN Meteorlogix weather said.

 

China reported three new cases of bird flu in three separate provinces, according to the Ministry of Agriculture's Web site.

 

On technical charts, analysts see first resistance for March corn at US$2.06, Tuesday's high and then at US$2.08. First support is pegged at Tuesday's low of US$2.04 3/4, (the contract low) and then at US$2.03.

 

Cash corn basis bids were mostly unchanged Wednesday morning. Central Illinois was unchanged at 5 cents over December futures, while St. Louis was 2 cents lower at 14 cents over December futures.

 

The Korea Feed Association is negotiating on a buy tender for up to 125,000 metric tonnes of optional origin corn, sources said.

 

Corn futures on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange finished higher on moderate speculative buying with the most active September contract up RMB9/tonne to RMB1,286/tonne.