Nogger's Blog

04/03/11 -- Soybeans: Mar 11 soybeans closed at USD14.07 3/4, up 2 1/4 cents; Mar 11 soybean meal closed at USD363.80, down USD3.00; Mar 11 soybean oil closed at 58.96, up 70 points. Beans traded both sides within a fairly wide trading range with early strength tied to China buying 120,000 MT of old crop, along with reports of the Argentine port workers strike spreading. Later in the session however weakness came from Informa Economics upping their estimates for South American soybean production this year by a combined 5.1 MMT. Brazil will produce a record 71.4 MMT and Argentina a second highest ever 52 MMT, they said.

Corn: Mar 11 corn closed at USD7.21 1/4, down 8 1/2 cents; Dec 11 corn closed at USD6.09 1/2, down 6 1/4 cents. Corn closed lower on profit-taking ahead of the weekend after setting a fresh 32-month high earlier in the day. Even so Mar corn was 9 1/4 cents higher on the week. Informa dropped it's Argentine corn production estimate by 1 MMT to 21 MMT, but increased it's Brazilian estimate by 2.8 MMT to 53.8 MMT. Overall however global production was decreased by 1.7 MMT, partly due to lower South African and Mexican production.

Wheat: Mar 11 CBOT wheat closed at USD8.00 1/2, up 10 cents; Mar 11 KCBT wheat ended at USD9.18, up 9 3/4 cents; Mar 11 MGEX wheat finished at USD9.53, up 6 1/2 cents. Wheat finished with with CBOT up around 24 cents on the week, with KCBT up 30 cents and MGEX up 37 cents. The US Midwest is too wet and the Plains are too dry. "The Midwest forecast is stormy and very wet, with heavy rain coming early next week to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Kansas wheat continues to be starved for moisture, and may miss out on rain again next week," say Martell Crop Projections.