Chicago Close
22/08/11 -- Soybeans: Sep 11 Soybeans closed at USD13.76 1/12, up 16 3/4 cents; Nov 11 Soybeans closed at USD13.85 1/4, up 16 3/4 cents; Sep 11 Soybean Meal finished at USD362.70, up USD8.60; Sep 11 Soybean Oil closed at 55.60, up 21 points. Beans gained on disappointing weekend rains combined with firmer stocks and crude oil. After the close the USDA dropped the percentage of the crop rated good/excellent by two points to 59%. Poor/very poor was up one point to 14%. Blooming was 97%, in line with normal, and setting pods was 83% compared with 88% normally.
Corn: Sep 11 Corn closed at USD7.20 1/2, up 9 1/2 cents; Dec 11 Corn was at USD7.34 1/2, up 9 1/4 cents. A sense of calm in the stock market helped support corn as too did ideas that final yields will end up lower than current USDA projections. After the close they pegged the crop at 57% good/excellent, down three points from last week and 13 below where we were this time last year. Corn export inspections were however below trade expectations at 29.5 million bushels. Funds were said to have bought 8,000 contracts on the day.
Wheat: Sep 11 CBOT Wheat closed at USD7.35 1/2, up 4 3/4 cents; Sep 11 KCBT Wheat finished at USD8.21 3/4, up 2 3/4 cents; Sep 11 MGEX Wheat was at USD9.43 1/4, down 2 cents. Spring wheat harvesting is well behind normal at 29% versus 56% on average. Good/excellent conditions also fell sharply to 62% from 66% last week and 82% a year ago. Winter wheat harvesting is almost done at 94% versus 97% normally. Egypt is again tendering for wheat having booked more than a million tonnes of Russian grain (and no US material) since the lifting of the export ban on July 1st.
