CBOT Close
31/03/11 -- Soybeans: May 11 soybeans closed at USD14.10 1/4, up 38 1/4 cents; Nov 11 soybeans closed at USD13.95, up 31 1/2 cents; May 11 soybean meal closed at USD370.70, up USD10.20; May 11 soybean oil closed at 58.78, up 146 points. The bean acreage number of 76.6 million from the USDA was bullish versus trade projections, yet beans closed well off early intra-day highs. Weekly export sales were quite poor at 144,800 MT old crop and 113,000 MT new crop. Old crop stocks are looking rather tight at 1.250 billion bushels as at March 1st.Corn: Corn was limit up on everything with May 11 closing at USD6.93 1/4, up 30 cents, and Dec 11 at USD6.25 1/4, up 30 cents. The quarterly stocks number surprised the trade at 6.52 billion bushels, lower than the lowest trade estimate. Weekly export sales were also huge at 2.23 MMT, although that should have been factored in based on recent announcements from the USDA. Spring plantings though were higher than anticipated at 92.2 million, up 4 million on last year.
Wheat: May 11 CBOT wheat closed at USD7.63 1/4, up 36 cents; May 11 KCBT wheat closed at USD9.08, up 46 cents; May 11 MGEX wheat closed at USD9.23 3/4, up 37 3/4 cents. There was nothing particularly bullish in today's USDA numbers. All wheat plantings were seen a little higher than expected at 58 million acres. Stocks were also a little higher than expected at 1.424 billion bushels and weekly export sales were on the low side at 409,500 MT. Even so corn hype dragged wheat higher.