December 29, 2009
CBOT Soy Review on Monday: Leaps late, ends up on technical buying
Chicago Board of Trade soy futures finished sharply higher Monday after rallying in late dealings amid technical buying, traders said.
Nearby January soy settled up 29 1/2 cents at US$10.29 a bushel, the contract's strongest close since Dec. 16. March soy closed up 30 cents at US$10.38.
Volume was thin ahead of the end of the year, traders said. The CBOT trades an abbreviated day Thursday and will be closed Friday for New Year's Day.
"There's no news," a CBOT floor analyst said at the close of trading. "It's just technical buying."
Commodity funds bought an estimated 4,000 contracts at the CBOT.
There were ideas the market was due for a bounce after recent losses. As of Thursday's close, January soy had lost 61 cents for the month. The CBOT was closed Friday for Christmas.
Soy finished firmer with neighboring CBOT corn and wheat. Weakness in the dollar and gains in crude oil were supportive to agricultural markets, a trader said.
Weekly U.S. soy export inspections of 51.9 million bushels also were considered strong. Demand remains supportive for the market, an analyst said.
Traders are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue its next crop report Jan. 12. They may put some risk premium back into the market amid uncertainty about the size of the U.S. crop after a late harvest, an analyst said.
Soy Products
Soy product futures finished higher with soy. Stronger crude-oil prices helped boost soyoil, traders said.
There was talk that cold weather in the U.S. would increase soymeal feeding to livestock, which would be supportive. An analyst said the chilly weather would have a "modest impact at best" on feed use.
Fund and technical buying added strength to the complex, a trader said. Commodity funds bought an estimated 2,000 soyoil contracts and 1,000 soymeal contracts.
March soymeal closed up US$8.60 at US$304.90 a short tonne. March soyoil finished up 119 points at 40.05 cents a pound.
