Nogger's Blog

29/04/11 -- Soybeans: May 11 soybeans closed at USD13.92 3/4, up 42 1/2 cents; Nov 11 beans closed at USD13.74 1/4, up 36 1/2 cents; May 11 soybean meal closed at USD358.10, up USD9.40; May 11 soybean oil closed at 58.13, up 170 points. Beans were up 12 1/4c on the week, with meal down 70c and oil down 14 points. Midday weather forecasts calling for cooler and wetter condition to return over the weekend was enough to reverse yesterday's losses and then some. Whilst corn plantings lag though, there is always the possibility of more soybean acres to come.

Corn: May 11 corn closed at USD7.54, up 31 cents; Dec 11 corn closed at USD6.69 1/2, up 32 cents. Old crop May was up 16 3/4 at the end of a choppy week, with new crop Dec climbing a more modest 4c. Conflicting weather forecasts throughout the week have been behind the volatility. Today's storyline was cold and damp with night lows in the 30s F for northern areas of the corn belt. "US corn producers typically plant around 55% of corn between April 20 and May 12 and are usually finishing up by May 20. This year they hope to boost corn plantings by 5%, yet only 9% of corn was seeded by April 24 due to adverse weather," point out Martell Crop Projections.

Wheat: May 11 CBOT wheat closed at USD7.69 1/4, up 26 1/4 cents; May 11 KCBT wheat closed at USD8.93, up 22 3/4 cents; May 11 MGEX wheat closed at USD9.45 1/4, up 28 1/2 cents. Chicago wheat fell 30 1/4c on the week, with Kansas losing 39 1/2c and Minneapolis down 6 1/4c. It's the same old story, to dry in the south and too cold and wet in the north. The European weather outlook has improved a little, Russian plantings are getting going after a slow start and Ukraine sowings are more or less complete. Asia has been buying feed wheat, most likely of Australian origin, although some Pakistani wheat has also been sold into that area.