Nogger's Blog

06/05/11 -- The overnight grains closed mixed, but mostly lower with beans down 2-4c, corn down 10-12 and wheat mostly 1-2c firmer. Just like Kate Middleton, crude oil too a right royal rogering yesterday which spilled over into morning action although it appears to have recovered some of it's composure by early afternoon. Straightening it's hair and applying a little mascara, NYMEX and Brent crude are almost back to unchanged levels having been five dollars down earlier in the day.

Continuing with the royal analogy (nice pun Nogger), bottom picking might be the order of the day this afternoon, along with a couple of stiff G&T's and a flick through Harpers & Queen before a visit to Boots the Chemist.

China says that spring grain plantings there are significantly ahead, whilst things are progressing nicely in Ukraine and even Russia seems to have caught up with some of it's arrears.

The US wheat crop isn't looking too bright, although carryover stocks are relatively plentiful, the question is will the market see it that way?

Corn plantings in the US lag, we wont know until Monday night how much progress has been made this week. The best planting window isn't likely to arrive until May 14th, say QT Weather.

The UK is in for rain today through to Monday with the outlook unsettled for most of next week. France, Germany and Poland have less chances of much needed rain though.

Egypt say that with it's own new crop wheat, it has sufficient stocks to not need to enter the import market for eight months. China is also making itself conspicuous by it's absence from the soybean market.

US unemployment has risen to 9.0% compared with expectations of 8.8%.

Are we in for a bargain hunting or long liquidation afternoon? Early calls on Chicago are: beans down 2-4c, corn down 8-10c, wheat 1-34c firmer.