eCBOT Close, Early Call

The overnight's extended the declines of the past few sessions, with beans closing around 10 cents lower, corn down 5-7 cents and wheat down 9-10 cents.

The US weather seems to have, or be about to, provide a window of opportunity for farmers to try and get corn and soybeans harvested. Those that can't get onto the land just yet might fare better next week, as a favourable period should extend through the first week of November, most forecasts are saying.

Before that a “very wet” storm will cross the Plains, Corn Belt and Delta over the next four days bringing heavy snow and strong winds to the Northern and Central Plains and flooding rains to the Mississippi Valley. A drier (and warmer) period begins next week becoming more widespread the following week, says Allen Motew of QT Weather.

The American Petroleum Institute surprised the market yesterday by saying that US crude oil stocks fell by 3.5 million barrels last week, the market had been expecting an increase of 1.4-1.8 million.

The US Energy Information Administration release their report at 14.30 GMT this afternoon.

Mastercard said yesterday that gasoline demand rose 5.1% year-on-year last week.

Some of this week's sharp declines could be attributable to the fact that the calender year for mutual funds and hedge funds ends on October 30. That frequently makes the last week of October a volatile one in all the markets.

Temperatures across Kansas have been several degrees below normal throughout October. This, coupled with above average precipitation, has prevented many farmers from finishing wheat planting, according to Kansas Wheat.

Early calls for this afternoon's CBOT session: corn called 5 to 7 lower; soybeans called 8 to 12 lower; wheat called 8 to 10 lower.