CBOT Closing Comments

Soybeans

November beans finished the day at $9.50 ½, down 9 ½ cents. Weather forecasters generally took a bit of the frost threat out of their predictions today, almost as quickly as they appeared. Of course that doesn't mean that they won't be back again tomorrow. Before Oct 1, two frosts are still likely, says Allen Motew of QT Weather. "The first shows about a week from today for Tuesday and Wednesday Sept 22-23 in North Dakota and Minnesota. The second, a bit stronger and more widespread for the last days of the month," he says. Weekly export sales for tomorrow are estimated at 600,000 to 850,000 MT.

Corn

December corn closed at $3.36 ¼, down 10 ¼ cents. Temperatures are still predicted to be much below normal from September 22nd to the 30th but just how much lower is uncertain. One of my weather chums, Gail Martell, says that the frost threat is not as great as some of yesterday's computer models were making out. "The upper air trough is not deep enough and a warm ridge from the west will quickly move into the Northern Plains-Upper Midwest," she says. Weekly export sales for tomorrow's USDA report are estimated at 550,000 to 750,000 MT.

Wheat

December wheat closed at $4.67 ¼, down 3 ¼ cents, recovered much of the early session losses. Wheat export sales estimates for tomorrow are predicted by trade analysts to be between 400,000 and 500,000 MT. Although Japan is expected to book 75,000 MT of US wheat tomorrow, export interest is fairly scant, with Egypt booking 240,000 MT of Russian wheat yesterday. Winter wheat planting is underway in top-producing state of Kansas, but current prices may encourage some growers to look for alternatives analysts are saying.