News

CME: Corn Futures Closed Lower Friday

16 April 2012

US - May Corn finished down 8 1/4 at 629 1/4, 12 1/2 off the high and 5 up from the low. July Corn closed down 8 1/4 at 620 3/4. This was 4 3/4 up from the low and 12 1/4 off the high.

May corn closed 8 1/4 cents lower on the session and down 29 cents for the week. The market saw a steady flow of fund trader selling after the lower opening to drive the market sharply lower on the session into the mid-day.

May corn pushed to the lowest level since March 30th and is now down as much as 39 cents from Monday's highs. Weak economic news from China and debt concerns in Spain helped to spark weak action for outside market forces.

In addition, traders see the wet weather for the Midwest over the next 3-4 days as a negative factor. While this may slow plantings, traders see the improving soil moisture as a more prominent factor. In addition, a sharp sell-off in wheat added to the negative tone.

News of higher planted area planned for China was also seen as a negative force. May Rice finished down 0.055 at 15.31, 0.11 off the high and equal to the low.

Wheat Futures Closed Lower

May Wheat finished down 15 3/4 at 623 1/2, 19 3/4 off the high and 5 up from the low. July Wheat closed down 14 1/4 at 630 1/4. This was 4 1/2 up from the low and 18 off the high.

May wheat closed 15 3/4 cents lower on the session and down 15 cents for the week. Ideas that the rally Thursday was a bit overdone and a turn down in outside market forces helped to sparked the early selling Friday and the selling continued in early trade to drive the market sharply lower on the session.

The selling pushed the market down to the lowest level since March 30th. The steep rally in the US dollar and more talk of improving crop conditions ahead helped to encourage more selling and the weakness in the other grains added to the negative tone.

Morocco bought 180,000 tonnes of soft wheat with the origin unknown. Slower China growth was seen as a negative force for commodity markets in general. May Oats closed down 6 1/4 at 327 3/4. This was 2 1/4 up from the low and 7 1/4 off the high.

Soybean Futures Closed Lower

May Soybeans finished down 4 1/4 at 1436 3/4, 11 off the high and 5 1/2 up from the low. July Soybeans closed down 3 3/4 at 1440 3/4.

This was 5 1/2 up from the low and 10 3/4 off the high. May Soymeal closed up 1.2 at 395.8. This was 2.7 up from the low and 1.6 off the high. May Soybean Oil finished down 0.71 at 56.52, 0.69 off the high and 0.12 up from the low.

May soybeans closed 4 1/4 cents lower on the session and this left the market up 2 3/4 cents for the week. Long liquidation selling was noted late in the day. Another serious set-back in the US stock market and a very strong US dollar this morning has helped to spark some speculative selling; thought to be long liquidation.

Concerns with a slower than expected growth pace for China and debt concerns for Spain have helped turn outside market forces weaker.

With open interest at a record high and overbought reading on technical indicators, traders remain concerned with a possible technical correction over the near-term. Private exporters reported the sale of 165,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China for the 2012/13 season.

This is the third sale for the week with a total of 445,000 tonnes going to China. Taiwan is in the market for 40,000-60,000 tonnes of US or Brazilian soybeans for May to June shipment. This business should go to Brazil at this time of the year.

The July/November bull spread continues to gain and is now trading near 79 cent premium July as compared with a 42 cent premium early this month. The NOPA monthly crush report on Monday is expected to show March crush near 144 million bushels.