eCBOT Close, Early Call

The overnight grains closed with beans around 5-7 cents easier, wheat down 2-3 cents and corn 1-2 cents higher.

The dollar is down following worse than expected jobs data. Crude is slightly easier.

China imported a record 5.25 MMT of soybeans in December, according to the Commerce Ministry. January imports are seen falling to 3.3 MMT however, and after that it seems fair to assume that the US won't continue to have things all it's own way once South America comes on stream.

China seem to be tightening their purse strings, and they've been the only thing keeping the soybean roadshow rolling. As and when they do draw in their horns, and/or switch to South America, US soybean prices could be in for a substantial and painful "religious experience".

High prices leading to record plantings and production the world over with even the little man like Paraguay getting in on the act. All-time record high output from the world's top four exporters, at least two of which are desperate for foreign mazoolah. Sound familiar to any of you wheat boys out there?

The only consolation for wheat growers is that they are already much further on down the road than their soybean counterparts.

Not so much the Pilgrim Fathers as the Pilgrim Farmers you might say!

Informa now peg Brazilian soybean output at a record 66 MMT, with Argentina also weighing in with a record 53 MMT.

Informa also say that corn production is also seen higher out of both the main two South American countries with Brazil weighing in at 52.7 MMT (51.0 MMT in 2008/09) and Argentina at 15.5 MMT (from 13.5 MMT). The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange peg corn production in Argentina even higher now at 16.5 MMT.

Early calls for this afternoon's CBOT session: corn called 1 to 2 higher; soybeans called 2 to 4 lower; wheat called 1 to 3 lower.