December 30, 2006
 
CBOT Corn Review on Friday: Up on speculative buys; fundamental strength

Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed out the 2006 trading year with a modestly higher finish Friday, underpinned by light speculative buying amid supportive underlying fundamentals.

March corn ended 1 3/4 cents higher at US$3.90 1/4 cents per bushel, and May finished 2 1/4 cents higher at US$3.98 1/2.

The market was buoyed by speculative buying in thin holiday trade amid the absence of any aggressive selling pressure to weigh on prices, analysts said.

Strong weekly export sales, supportive technicals and bullish longer-term demand prospects served as catalysts to keep sellers on the run, traders added.

Otherwise, the market had little fresh directive influences, with traders taking the opportunity to square up a few positions, unwilling to take on added risk heading into the extended holiday weekend.

CBOT will be closed Monday in observance of the New Year's Day holiday. The exchange will close some markets Tuesday in observance of former president Gerald Ford's funeral, according to an exchange schedule issued Friday. In the agricultural products, pit trade will be closed Tuesday, the exchange said. In electronic activity on the e-cbot platform, trading will open as normal at 6:30 p.m. CST Monday and will end at 6 a.m. CST Tuesday.

Weekly export sales data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were 1.15 million metric tonnes. This compares with trade estimates of 800,000 to 1.100 million tonnes. Sales were 9% below the previous week, but 3% over the prior four-week average.

In pit trades, ADM Investor Services bought 400 March and 500 July, FCStonnee bought 400 December, JP Morgan bought 300 March and RJ O'Brien bought 500 March. JP Morgan sold 500 December, Fortis sold 300 March and UBS Securities sold 600 July. Speculative funds were net buyers on the day.

CBOT oat futures ended weaker on fund selling, sources said. March oats closed 6 3/4 cents lower at US$2.71 per bushel and May ended down 5 1/4 cents at US$2.77.

Ethanol futures ended firmer. The January contract closed up 0.058 at US$2.493 per gallon. The February contract settled 0.005 higher at US$2.295.