Nogger's Blog

27/03/12 -- Soybeans: May 12 Soybeans closed at USD13.69 3/4, down 9 3/4 cents; Nov 12 Soybeans closed at USD13.27 3/4, down 1 3/4 cents; May 12 Soybean Meal closed at USD376.00, down USD1.90; May 12 Soybean Oil closed at 55.10, down 33 points. It was a Turnaround Tuesday of profit taking ahead of Friday's USDA reports, despite a sale of 120,000 MT of new crop beans to China. Spec funds, who held a record long in bean futures and options as of last Tuesday and have added to that position since, were said to have sold 6,000 soybean contracts on the day. Estimates for Friday's plantings report centre around 75.3-75.5 million acres.

Corn: May 12 Corn closed at USD6.30 3/4, down 7 cents; Dec 12 Corn closed at USD5.50 1/4, down 3 cents. Prices closed close to session lows as funds reputedly sold 5,000 lots on the day, adding to the 10,000 supposedly sold Monday. Trade estimates for the US corn acreage average 94.7 million acres, up 2.8 million or 3% from 2011. Estimates range from 93.6 to 95.6 million acres. March 1 stocks are expected around 6.2 billion bushels. South Korea bought 65,000 MT of optional origin corn overnight, but there's no sign of China to keep the bulls fed.

Wheat: May 12 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.39 3/4, down 19 3/4 cents; May 12 KCBT Wheat closed at USD6.79, down 20 cents; May 12 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.06 1/4, down 15 3/4 cents. Funds were said to have sold 4,000 Chicago wheat contracts on the day, although some think that selling could have been greater than that. Crop conditions in Kansas and Oklahoma, the two largest HRW wheat states, are showing significant improvement. Opinion is divided on how much damage has been done in Europe, but it is common knowledge that the carry-in to the world 2012/13 crop will be large, possibly record large. Friday's reports are considered less likely to throw up a wheat surprise than they are for corn or soybeans.