December 1, 2009

 

CBOT Corn Review on Monday: Up on dollar weakness, crop quality concerns

 

 

Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher Monday, supported by weakness in the dollar and crop quality concerns.

 

December corn ended up 5 1/2 cents at US$4.02 3/4 per bushel, and March corn ended four cents higher at US$4.17 1/2 per bushel. In pit trades, speculative fund selling was estimated at 10,000 lots.

 

With a lot of corn still in the fields to be harvested, issues of crop quality are surfacing as rallying points for futures, said Jack Scoville, analyst with Price Futures Group in Chicago.

 

Outside market support aided the market's bounce, with weakness in the dollar, firm crude-oil futures and the easing of fears associated with the Dubai debt crisis serving as underpinning features.

 

The nearby December contract was buoyed by light delivery notices. Some support was also provided by optimistic outlooks for corn demand from Europe on trader talk that the European Union will approve a genetic strain of U.S. corn for import, a CBOT floor analyst said.

 

Meanwhile, sellers remain reluctant participants, as the market braces for potential large-scale fund buying similar to the buying that appeared at the start of November, said Victor Lespinasse, analyst with Grainanalyst.com.

 

The DTN Meteorlogix weather forecast calls for mainly favorable conditions for drying and harvesting corn this week, except over southeast and far eastern areas where rain is expected Wednesday. Next week's weather is more uncertain. A stormier pattern appears likely.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. EST, with harvest progress expected to be near 80% complete as of Sunday.

 

In deliveries, December corn deliveries totaled three lots. Customer accounts at Citigroup issued and stopped the three lots. The last trade date assigned was March 3.

 

CBOT oat futures closed lower. December oats lost 1/2 cent to US$2.54 1/2 a bushel, and March oats dropped one cent to US$2.67 1/2.

 

Ethanol futures ended higher. December ethanol gained 1.4 cents to US$2.135 per gallon, and January ethanol rose 2.6 cents to US$2.030.