November 24, 2007

 

CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Higher on export sales, soy, wheat surge

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures settled higher Friday in an abbreviated trading session, as surging wheat futures and a rally in soybeans boosted prices, analysts said. The CBOT closed at 1 p.m. EST following the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

March corn settled 7 cents higher at US$4.05 3/4 a bushel.

 

Strong weekly export sales and sharp gains in precious metals futures also contributed to the price strength, analysts said.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly corn export sales were 1.847 million metric tonnes, well above the 1.0-to-1.550 million tonnes expected by analysts.

 

The rally in soybeans provided support for corn with wheat adding to the strength, said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest Market Solutions, in Yanktonne, S.D. Nearby soybeans traded to their highest level since 1973, and wheat futures rallied to limit up, or 30 cents higher, before retreating on profit-taking near the close.

 

Stronger "outside" inflationary markets also provided strength for the rally, a trader said. Precious metals futures settled sharply higher with nearby gold up over US$26.00 per ounce and nearby silver gaining over 31 cents. Corn also gained from the rally in crude oil with nearby crude oil settling over US$1 higher and at a new record high close.

 

Speculative and technical buying also added to the upside momentum. In open auction trading, commodity fund buying was estimated at 4,000 contracts.

 

On daily technical charts, electronically traded March traded to its highest level since early November and finished above its major moving averages.

 

In options trading, MF Global bought 4,000 January US$3.70 puts.

 

Oat futures settled with thin losses, unable to generate any upside momentum despite the gains in wheat and corn, a trader said. It was a poor performance given the strength in the other grains, the trader said.

 

December oats ended 2 3/4 cents lower at US$2.73 3/4 per bushel and March finished down 1 1/4 cents at US$2.88.

 

Ethanol futures settled mixed. December ethanol fell 1.6 cents to US$1.900 per gallon and January rose 1 cent to US$1.855.

 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission weekly commitment of traders report due to be released Friday afternoon, will be delayed until Monday, due to Thanksgiving.

 

On Monday, the USDA is scheduled to release the weekly export inspections report and the weekly crop progress report.