Chicago Closing Comments
Soybeans
July soybeans closed at $12.01, up 5 cents November soybeans ended at $9.91, down 11 cents, further widening the old crop/new crop spread. Weather forecasts are good for a timely conclusion to new crop planting progress, but continued Chinese buying supports old crop prices. Next week's USDA report is also expected to be bearish for new crop, but that doesn't change the old crop fundamentals. Interesting. It is easy to envisage old crop prices moving higher, maybe even substantially so on technical factors, but new crop must be the biggest sell of all-time. IMHO.
Corn
July corn finished at $3.84 ¼, up 1 ¾ cents, whilst December corn finished at $4.04 ¼, up 2 ¾ cents. So far this week, weather throughout the Corn Belt was beneficial to crop development, which weighed on futures. Hot AND wet is good, one without the other is maybe not so good. Next week calls for much cooler temperatures to return to at least the northern Midwest, with temperatures reaching 4 to 16 degrees below normal from Minnesota to Ohio, according to QT Weather.
Wheat
CBOT wheat settled at $5.34.1/4, up 1 ¼ cents. Hot and dry conditions, with some periods of showers over much of the Plains this week and forecast to continue this weekend, is beneficial to winter wheat harvest and spring wheat development. Old crop stocks continue to weigh, but lower new crop production is supportive. Traders are looking ahead to the June 30th USDA planted acreage report, where average trade estimate for 2009 spring wheat planted acreage is forecast at 13.102 million.
July soybeans closed at $12.01, up 5 cents November soybeans ended at $9.91, down 11 cents, further widening the old crop/new crop spread. Weather forecasts are good for a timely conclusion to new crop planting progress, but continued Chinese buying supports old crop prices. Next week's USDA report is also expected to be bearish for new crop, but that doesn't change the old crop fundamentals. Interesting. It is easy to envisage old crop prices moving higher, maybe even substantially so on technical factors, but new crop must be the biggest sell of all-time. IMHO.
Corn
July corn finished at $3.84 ¼, up 1 ¾ cents, whilst December corn finished at $4.04 ¼, up 2 ¾ cents. So far this week, weather throughout the Corn Belt was beneficial to crop development, which weighed on futures. Hot AND wet is good, one without the other is maybe not so good. Next week calls for much cooler temperatures to return to at least the northern Midwest, with temperatures reaching 4 to 16 degrees below normal from Minnesota to Ohio, according to QT Weather.
Wheat
CBOT wheat settled at $5.34.1/4, up 1 ¼ cents. Hot and dry conditions, with some periods of showers over much of the Plains this week and forecast to continue this weekend, is beneficial to winter wheat harvest and spring wheat development. Old crop stocks continue to weigh, but lower new crop production is supportive. Traders are looking ahead to the June 30th USDA planted acreage report, where average trade estimate for 2009 spring wheat planted acreage is forecast at 13.102 million.