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Posted by Nogger - a legend in his own mind at 07:09 | Categorized as

24/11/10 -- Soybeans

Jan 11 soybeans closed at USD12.55, up 16 cents; Dec 10 soybean meal closed at USD340.20, down USD0.50; Dec 10 soybean oil closed at 50.24, up 102 points. Outside markets helped beans, with firmer crude oil, a weaker dollar and ideas that the North and South Korean dispute was unlikely to escalate into a full blown war. China bought a hefty 780,000 MT on the day, according to the USDA. Dryness concerns in Argentina remain a worry, the last time the crop there was affected by a strong La Nina event was 2008/09 when production was slashed to 32 MMT.

Corn

Dec 10 corn closed at USD5.38 3/4, up 10 1/4 cents; Mar 11 corn closed at USD5.53 3/4, up 10 3/4 cents. China officially acknowledged for the first time that they may be short of corn this season. Reuters report that China's Banking Regulatory Commission issued a statement calling for support for the agricultural sector "in the face of severe shortages of corn, cotton and sugar." USDA export sales will be out Friday since the markets are closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Friday will be a shortened session.

Wheat

Dec 10 CBOT wheat closed at USD6.47 1/2, up 5 1/2 cents; Dec 10 KCBT wheat closed at USD7.19, up 7 1/2 cents; Dec 10 MGEX wheat closed at USD7.33, up 4 cents. Wheat got support from spillover strength in corn and beans. US wheat is competitively priced at these levels on the global stage and Europe is low on stocks. Western Australian wheat is about halfway through harvest and the crop there is likely to be severely reduced by drought. Eastern Australian wheat harvesting is almost ready to begin. Although yields are expected to be bumper on abundant rains, those same conditions may mean that much of what they have will only make feed grade.