eCBOT Close, Early Call, Export Sales

eCBOT grains closed the overnight session mostly higher with March corn closing up 3/4 cents, March soybeans ending up 7 1/2 cents, and March wheat up 10 cents.

A lower US dollar is boosting hopes of a pick-up in export interest. Certainly there has been quite a bit of tender activity around the week with South Korea and Japan buying US corn & wheat.

The USDA reported weekly export sales for the week ended Jan. 29, of 1.16 MMT for corn (for the current MY); 336,600 MT for soybeans; and 326,800 MT for wheat.

Traders expected corn sales from 750,000 to 950,000 MT; soybean sales from 450,000 to 650,000 MT; and wheat sales from 250,000 to 450,000 MT.

So the figures are being called bullish corn, neutral wheat and bearish soybeans. Bean sales were light, but China was on holiday last week, and sales have been running very well up until now.

CONAB now pegs the Brazilian soybean crop at 57.2 MMT versus 57.8 MMT in January, and 60 MMT a year ago. While the corn crop is estimated at 50.3 MMT compared to 52.3 MMT previously.

China's Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief declared a "level 1" emergency for the drought situation in northern parts of the country, calling it a "severe drought rarely seen in history."

Today’s rain in Argentina is forecast to total 0.25 to 0.75 inch, with a return to dry conditions by the weekend.

Early calls for this afternoon's CBOT session: corn called 3 to 5 cents higher; soybeans called 8 to 10 cents higher; wheat called 7 to 10 cents higher.