Nogger's Blog

21/03/12 -- Soybeans: May 12 Soybeans closed at USD13.55, up 10 cents; Nov 12 Soybeans closed at USD13.17 3/4, up 10 1/2 cents; May 12 Soybean Meal closed at USD369.80, up USD4.20; May 12 Soybean Oil closed at 54.38, up 5 points. The soya complex once again proved to be the strongest leg out of it, corn and wheat. Funds were said to have bought 5,000 soybean contracts on the day. An Argentine truckers strike should in theory direct some export business the way of the US with weekly export sales for tomorrow estimated in the region of 900,000 and one million MT. There are the perennial rumours of Chinese buying overnight.

Corn: May 12 Corn closed at USD6.42, down 5 1/2 cents; Dec 12 Corn closed at $5.56, down 4 1/4 cents. Funds were said to have sold another 8,000 contracts today, bringing their weekly total sold so far to 36,000 lots, a volume that the market finds difficult to absorb. Forecasts for above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation are conducive for early planting. China has been conspicuous by it's absence this past fortnight despite all the reports of how low their corn stocks are. Tomorrow's weekly export sales report will be interesting therefore, with the trade looking for sales of 650 to 850 thousand MT.

Wheat: May 12 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.36 1/4, down 6 1/4 cents; May 12 KCBT Wheat closed at USD6.75, down 5 1/2 cents; May 12 MGEX Wheat closed at USD7.98 3/4, down 1/2 cent. Funds were said to have sold 2,000 Chicago contracts on the day. US wheat lost out to Argentine origin this week on sales to Algeria, Morocco and UAE. China are said to have bought 350,000 MT of Australian feed wheat this week. Decent rains on the Great Plains with more in the forecast is thought likely to have been beneficial to US winter wheat, a crop that is already in much better shape than it was a year ago.