Early Call On Chicago

29/06/11 -- The overnight grains finished stronger on follow-through momentum from last night and a renewed conviction that Greece would get it's austerity vote through parliament. Beans closed around 14-15c higher with corn up 22-23c on old crop and 12-16c on new crop, wheat gained around 14-17c.

After the overnight Globex market closed Greece did indeed narrowly get the vote through by 155-138, which may encourage global investors back into the grains market, although there is a long way to go yet on this Greek story methinks.

We've got the USDA tomorrow to give us their June planted area figures, although these are already being dismissed as likely to be inaccurate before they are even released.

All wheat area is estimated by the trade at 57.7 million, although there is already widespread talk that whatever figure the USDA come up with will probably be too high given the scale of unplanted acres in North Dakota.

Soybean plantings are seen falling slightly from the March estimate to around 76.5 million acres. Corn area is pegged a little higher than previously at 90.8 million.

Once we get this report out of the way it will then be interesting to see if fund money fancies returning to the fold in an attempt to push prices back up to where they were.

The USDA have announced the sale of 120,000 MT of SRW wheat to unknown. South Korea have bought four cargoes of optional origin feed wheat, most likely Australian I'd suggest.

Bulls are pointing to Monday night's fall in crop conditions and a coming heatwave as other supportive factors. The latter may well correct the former however come next week's crop ratings.

Early calls for this afternoon's CBOT session: corn up 20-25c, wheat up 14-16c, beans up 13-15c.

I'll stick my neck out and go for a strong opening that tails away as the session wears on with grains ultimately giving up half their gains by the close of play, and I'll have a fiver on a white Christmas.