December 16, 2006

 

CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Down on consolidation, weaker soy

 

 

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures settled lower Friday as consolidation ahead of the weekend and spillover weakness from the soy complex weighed on the market, sources said.

 

March corn finished 2 3/4 cents lower at US$3.69, and May corn fell 2 1/2 cents to 3.77. e-CBOT day session volume in March was 39,346 contracts.

 

Trading volume was light, with a lack of fresh news keeping buying interest on the sidelines, a commission house analyst said.

 

Soybeans moved lower after mid-session with the weakness adding to the poor tonnee in corn, he added.

 

The weather in South America continues to be excellent and that lessens concern about potential crop problems, he noted.

 

The market closed on a weak note Thursday, so people looked to consolidate their positions ahead of the weekend, a floor broker said.

 

A rebound in wheat futures from weaker levels near the close helped trim the losses in corn, the broker added.

 

People were evening up their positions before next week, when participants will be absent ahead of the holidays, he noted.

 

On open auction technical charts, March corn traded within the range established during Thursday's day session.

 

March continues to trade above its 40-day moving average but below its 10- and 20-day averages.

 

Buyers Friday included ADM Investor Services, which bought 300 March; Man Financial, which bought 300 December; and RJ O'Brien, which bought 300 March.

 

Deutsche Bank sold 600 December, ADM Investor Services sold 300 March, and FC Stonnee sold 300 July.

 

In options trading, RJ O'Brien bought 1,000 July US$4.00 calls and sold 1,000 July US$4.50 calls. FC Stonnee bought 1,000 December US$4.00 calls, sold 2,000 December US$4.50 calls and sold 1,000 December US$5.00 calls.

 

Oat futures settled modestly higher as fund buying early in the session was partially offset by hedge-related selling and spillover weakness in corn, a local trader said.

 

March oats gained 1 3/4 cents to US$2.65 3/4 per bushel, and May finished up 1/2 cent at US$2.71 1/2.

 

Ethanol futures settled modestly higher in thin trading. The January contract settled 4.5 cents higher at US$2.33 a gallon. The February contract didn't trade and settled at US$2.28, up 5 cents.

 

Friday afternoon, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled to release the commitment of traders report for the period ending Dec. 12.

 

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release the weekly export inspections report at 10 a.m. CST.