November 28, 2007

 

CBOT Corn Review on Tuesday: Lower; outside influences pressure

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended lower across the board Tuesday, pressured by spillover weakness for soybeans and outside markets amid a lack of any fresh fundamental news.

 

December corn ended 2 1/4 cents lower at US$3.83 1/2, and March finished 2 1/2 cents lower at US$4.00 3/4.

 

The corn market was a follower of outside markets, with sharp declines in crude oil and metal futures, and spillover pressure from soybeans combining to attract speculative selling, a CBOT floor analyst said.

 

The theme was consistent, with scattered reports of fresh export demand unable to offset the bearish momentum filtering in from outside influences, traders added. The market went up on sharp gains in the outside inflationary markets, so it's only natural for it to slide on a retrenchment in the outside markets, an analyst added.

 

However, the ability of futures to hold nearby technical support coupled with underlying demand managed to limit downside pressure in otherwise light trade, a trader said.

 

Meanwhile, lingering worries over dryness in Argentina managed to provide mild support to prices as well, he added. The DTN Meteorlogix weather forecast said that in Argentina, soil moisture is being reduced by dry conditions that are also very hot, approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of the country. This week will remain mostly dry and hot, but the long-range forecast gives wetter weather a good chance to cool things down in a week or so.

 

In other news, South Africa imported 39,394 metric tonnes of Argentine yellow corn last week, bringing imports of yellow corn since May to 865,754 tonnes, the South African Grain Information Service said Tuesday.

 

In pit trades, Tenco bought 400 2008 December, and Fimat bought 500 2008 December. JP Morgan sold 400 March, Citigroup and Rand Financial each sold 300 March, with UBS Securities a seller of 1,000 December. Speculative fund selling was estimated at 4,000 lots.

 

CBOT oat futures ended lower with corn, soybeans and outside markets. January oats tumbled 4 cents to US$2.69 1/2 per bushel.

 

Ethanol futures finished mixed. December ethanol jumped .018 cent to US$1.968 per gallon, and January fell .002 cent to US$1.874.