Nogger's Blog

01/03/12 -- The overnight grains ended lower with beans down 4-5 cents, corn around 3 cents easier and wheat losing 4 to 4 1/2 cents in a bit of light consolidation from recent gains. Crude is up half a dollar or so and the US is unchanged.

The USDA reported weekly export sales of a combined 509,100 MT for wheat, at the low end of expectations of 500-700,000 MT. Shipments of only 205,800 MT were rather disappointing and the worst since the first week of the marketing year save for the holiday shortened New Year week.

For corn we got sales of a combined 713,000 MT in the middle of expectations of 650-850,000 MT. Soybean sales cam in at the top end of expectations at a combined 976,400 MT.

There are reports that early harvest yield results from northern Brazil have been better than expected, which may offset some of the losses anticipated in the south of the country still to come.

After several successive up days some downwards correction looks like being on the cards amidst overbought conditions in soybeans and corn. Wheat will simply follow.

The USDA reports the sale of 120,000 MT of HRW wheat to Iran despite sanctions against them.

Early calls have corn down 2-3 cents, wheat down 3-4 cents and soybeans down 3-5 cents.