CBOT Closing Comments
Corn
Corn futures rallied nearly 20 cents Tuesday pushing all but front month Mar past the $4/bu. barrier. US dollar continues to slide, reaching its lowest level since the first week of Oct '08, which was in the midst of the rally from the summer lows. 2009 production concerns are a major topic of late and helped to underpin the rallies in corn futures as corn gains on soybeans. Crude oil was steady for the most part during trade and helped to underpin ideas of higher corn and to sustain rallies. Long time shorts may be covering positions and adding additional price inclines. Mar +18 at 3.94.
Soybeans
Soybeans closed slightly higher than their midday prices, withholding their gains. Beans are giving ground on the corn:soybean price ratio. Soybeans also have some bearish fundamentals to face, as farmers may be more inclined to plant more bean acres this spring as it is more economic than corn for input cost wise along with rotation concerns. OPEC could announce production cuts tomorrow, which would be supportive to crude oil along with soybeans. Drought concerns still overhang in South America and could help boost US prices and world stock are already tight. Jan +12 at 8.58; Jan Meal +4.20 at 261.00; Jan BO +80 at 31.35.
Wheat
Wheat futures shot higher on short covering and a softer tone in the US dollar. Wheat futures were also able to sustain gains on spillover buying and support from higher CBOT grains Tuesday. Declines in the US dollar has sparked some foreign interest as Taiwan purchased 56,030MT of US wheat, Japan is seeking a buy of 62,000 MT and Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in a large tender of US milling wheat. The severe temperatures have raised some winter kill concerns, giving bulls some fresh bullish news. Mar CHI +24 at 5.44; Mar KC +22 at 5.65; Mar MLPS +18 at 6.07.
Corn futures rallied nearly 20 cents Tuesday pushing all but front month Mar past the $4/bu. barrier. US dollar continues to slide, reaching its lowest level since the first week of Oct '08, which was in the midst of the rally from the summer lows. 2009 production concerns are a major topic of late and helped to underpin the rallies in corn futures as corn gains on soybeans. Crude oil was steady for the most part during trade and helped to underpin ideas of higher corn and to sustain rallies. Long time shorts may be covering positions and adding additional price inclines. Mar +18 at 3.94.
Soybeans
Soybeans closed slightly higher than their midday prices, withholding their gains. Beans are giving ground on the corn:soybean price ratio. Soybeans also have some bearish fundamentals to face, as farmers may be more inclined to plant more bean acres this spring as it is more economic than corn for input cost wise along with rotation concerns. OPEC could announce production cuts tomorrow, which would be supportive to crude oil along with soybeans. Drought concerns still overhang in South America and could help boost US prices and world stock are already tight. Jan +12 at 8.58; Jan Meal +4.20 at 261.00; Jan BO +80 at 31.35.
Wheat
Wheat futures shot higher on short covering and a softer tone in the US dollar. Wheat futures were also able to sustain gains on spillover buying and support from higher CBOT grains Tuesday. Declines in the US dollar has sparked some foreign interest as Taiwan purchased 56,030MT of US wheat, Japan is seeking a buy of 62,000 MT and Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in a large tender of US milling wheat. The severe temperatures have raised some winter kill concerns, giving bulls some fresh bullish news. Mar CHI +24 at 5.44; Mar KC +22 at 5.65; Mar MLPS +18 at 6.07.
