Nogger's Blog

13/12/10 -- The overnight grains were higher, it seems largely on the news that the Chinese didn't raise interest rates over the weekend. The did up lenders' reserve requirements again however, and also reported food price inflation running at 11.7% in November.

Beans finished the overnight Globex session up 10-12c, with corn up 4-5c and wheat 5-6c higher.

Argentina got some better than forecast rains over the weekend, with northern and central areas getting 1-2 inches over the past 72 hours, according to QT Weather. It's still too dry however in the south and the east.

There is talk of eastern Australia finally getting some dryness to help speed up harvesting and dry some of that soaked wheat.

Snow and freezing temperatures continue to hamper grain movement in the upper US. "A ferocious winter storm hit the Upper Midwest on the weekend causing high winds and heavy snow," say Martell Crop Projections.

Crude oil is back up above USD89/barrel as the cold snap in the US and Europe looks set to continue/resume later in the week. The dollar is also a bit weaker.

Early calls for this afternoon's CBOT session: Beans up 10-12 cents, corn up 3-5 cents, wheat up 4-6 cents.