Chicago Close

09/09/11 -- Soybeans: Sep 11 Soybeans closed at USD14.16 1/, up 9 1/4 cents; Nov 11 Soybeans closed at USD14.26 1/2, up 8 1/2 cents; Sep 11 Soybean Meal closed at USD368.70, up USD3.20; Sep 11 Soybean Oil closed at 58.20, up 38 points. The European debt alarm bells are getting louder, causing a flight to safety which sees the dollar post significant gains across the week, hindering US export competitiveness. China has reputedly switched much of it's attention to South America. The chances of a frost risk for September 14, 15 and 16 are increasing, say WxRisk.com. Weekly US export sales were as expected. Nov beans were down 19 1/4 cents on the week. Monday's USDA reports will hopefully provide some direction from here.

Corn: Sep 11 Corn closed at USD7.26, up 2 3/4 cents; Dec 11 Corn at USD7.36 1/2, up 2 1/2 cents. Dec was down 23 1/2 cents on the week. Weekly export sales were in line with expectations at 870,600 MT, in addition to which the USDA announced a sale of 127,506 MT to unknown under the daily reporting system. Monday's USDA report is expected to cut US corn production to around 12.5 billion bushels this year. That's the equivalent of around 317.5 MMT, which is 10.5 MMT less than last month's projection. A strong US dollar rose to it's best levels since February against the euro and since January versus the pound, which may keep a bit of a lid on exports.

Wheat: CBOT December wheat fell 8 1/4 cents to USD7.29 3/4; KCBT December lost 13 1/2 cents to USD8.32 1/2; MGEX December slipped 1c to USD9.07 1/4. CBOT wheat has fallen every day this week with the September contract losing 29 cents. The strong dollar should hinder US exports, although weekly sales were good at 512,200 MT compared to estimates of 350-450 TMT. Funds were estimated to have sold 3,000 Chicago contracts on the day, bringing their total for the week to around 11,000 lots. No majors surprises are expected from the USDA on Monday with regards to wheat S&D, support - or otherwise - may come from corn. Some reports suggest that the US has already started importing feed wheat from Canada and the UK.