Chicago Close

Posted by Nogger - a legend in his own mind at 12:50 | Categorized as

17/06/11 -- Soybeans: Jul 11 soybeans closed at USD13.33, down 17 1/2 cents; Nov 11 soybeans closed at USD13.33 1/4, down 17 cents; Jul 11 soybean meal closed at USD349.00, down USD4.70; Jul 11 soybean oil closed at 55.92, down 40 points. Beans shed 54 1/4 cents on the week, with meal losing USD24.30 and oil 93 points. Funds were liquidating again today, selling an estimated 6,000 bean contracts on the day, as oil slumped USD2/barrel with front month July ending at it's lowest since Jan 27th. Beans settled at their lowest levels in a month on continued concerns over Greek debt, and the impact it might have on demand from Europe.

Corn: Jul 11 corn closed at USD7.00 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents; Dec 11 corn closed at USD6.60, up 7 cents. July corn was down 86 3/4 cents, or 11%, on the week. Funds were estimated to have bought 9,000 contracts on the day, but liquidated something like 50,000 lots on the week overall. That's a weighty 6.35 million tonnes as reports circulate of ethanol producers closing down and looking to sell their inventory back onto the market. Crude oil falling to its lowest levels for a front month since February wont help improve their margins any, so I guess that corn prices need to do that to make the industry economically viable again, even whilst they still hang onto their 45c/gallon tax break.

Wheat: Jul 11 CBOT wheat closed at USD6.72 1/4, down 1 cent; Jul 11 KCBT wheat closed at USD8.04 1/2, up 6 1/2 cents; Jul 11 MGEX wheat closed at USD8.97 1/4, down 3 cents. Chicago wheat lost 87 cents on the week, with Kansas down 63 1/2 cents and Minneapolis falling a dollar and 2 /34 cents. This was the lowest front month close for Chicago wheat in three month as it closed lower every day this week. The US harvest is ongoing and with widely variable results although protein levels are generally high. Harvest pressure and global economic concerns, along with Russia's arrival back onto the export market being just two weeks away are the main fundamentals behind the slump. Widespread fund liquidation has meant that despite suggestions to the contrary speculators really do move markets.