Nogger's Blog

18/11/10 -- The overnight grains closed with solid gains, wheat up 20-22c, corn up around 16c and beans up 30c or so.

Ideas seem to be forming that the recent sake-out was more than enough and presents a buying opportunity.

Crude oil is higher, the dollar weaker and outside markets generally also lending some support.

Export sales were much better than expected for wheat, towards the top end of estimates for beans and as expected for corn. There were no sales to China on corn, but they took around 75% of the bean total as per usual.

The Chinese authorities continue to talk the talk concerning measures to calm food price inflation, but that now seems fully factored into current levels. An interest rate hike might be on the cards as early as tomorrow, although last months similar move didn't really have a huge amount of impact when all said and done.

There are still some concerns over dryness in parts of Argentina. After a delayed start, plantings in Brazil appear to have caught up with normal.

Early calls for this afternoon's CBOT session: corn 15-18c higher, wheat up 20-22c, beans 25-30c higher.