Nogger's Blog

13/04/12 -- Soybeans: May 12 Soybeans closed at USD14.36 3/4, down 4 1/4 cents; Nov 12 Soybeans closed at USD13.61 3/4, down 11 cents; May 12 Soybean Meal closed at USD395.80, up USD1.20; May 12 Soybean Oil closed at 56.52, down 71 points. On the week as a whole May beans were slightly higher, up 2 3/4 cents although new crop Nov was almost 20 cents weaker. Meal added almost USD4 whilst oil was 12 points lower. Funds were estimated to have sold 4,000 soybean contracts on the day, whilst buying 1,000 on the meal. The USDA has reported the sale of 165,000 MT of new crop soybeans to China. Argentine soybean production estimates keep getting smaller. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange yesterday went 44 MMT for Argentina, the Rosario equivalent now say 43.1 MMT against the USDA's 45 MMT announced on Tuesday.

Corn: May 12 Corn closed at USD6.29 1/4, down 8 1/4 cents; Dec 12 Corn closed at USD5.37, down 9 3/4 cents. Old crop May corn was 29 cents lower on the week with new crop Dec down 13 1/4 cents. Funds were said to have sold around 10,000 contracts on the day. An ideal start to the early planting season looks set to get the boost of widespread Midwest rains over the weekend. The La Nina weather phenomena that has been in place across the winter, resulting in dry conditions for much of the Midwest, is said to have weakened rapidly. That potentially puts cooler and wetter conditions on the cards for the summer growing season. A drift into the El Nino weather pattern, should it occur, would be seen as being even more beneficial this summer.

Wheat: May 12 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.23 1/2, down 15 3/4 cents; May 12 KCBT Wheat closed at USD6.43, down 10 cents; May 12 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.24 1/4, down 12 1/4 cents. Chicago wheat fell 15 cents on the week, with Kansas wheat down 19 cents and Minneapolis wheat losing 21 3/4 cents. Wheat seems to be drifting lower, US stocks are ample and with each week that passes winter wheat harvesting draws ever nearer. Crop conditions are sharply better than a year ago and spring wheat planting is also well advanced. Algeria bought 200,000 MT of what is thought to have been French wheat this week. Egypt stayed out of the market. European weather conditions have improved, potentially drawing a line under talk of crop losses there.