In Commodity News 04/11/2016
Corn rose for the first time in five sessions on Thursday as end-user buying lifted the market from last session’s near three-week low, although ample global supplies capped gains.
Soybeans edged higher as the market rebounded from a one-week low, while wheat eased after climbing 0.8 percent on Wednesday.
The Chicago Board Of Trade most-active corn contract rose 0.3 percent to $3.47-1/4 a bushel by 0318 GMT, having
dropped in the previous sessions to a low of $3.44-1/4 a bushel – the weakest since Oct. 13.
Soybeans rose 0.1 percent to $9.87-1/2 a bushel, after hitting its lowest since Oct. 25 at $9.83 a bushel, while wheat lost 0.2 percent to $4.17 a bushel.
Investors in the agricultural markets are awaiting signs of improved demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly export sales report due later in the day.
China has been aggressively buying U.S. soybeans, underpinning the market.
“Expectations of higher yields in the USDA report have already been priced in,” said Ole Houe, an analyst with brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney, referring to the agency’s monthly supply-demand report.
“There is not much downside, for corn in particular. For soybeans we continue to see U.S. farmer selling and Chinese buying, it will be a surprise to see if there is more downside to the market.”
The USDA may next week raise its forecast of the U.S. soybean yield from its current estimate of 51.4 bushels per acre (bpa), already a record high. The report is due on Nov. 9, the day after Election Day.
Commodity brokerage INTL FCStone late on Tuesday raised its soybean yield estimate to 52.8 bpa from 52.5 last month. The firm also raised its corn yield estimate to 175.3 bpa, up from its October figure of 175.2.
In news supportive for the corn market, the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed an increase in production and smaller stockpiles of corn-based ethanol in the latest week.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn and soybean futures contracts on Wednesday and net buyers in wheat, traders said.
Most active contracts
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Richard Pullin)