CBOT Close - Tuesday

28/12/10 -- Soybeans

Jan soybeans closed at USD13.75 3/4, up 2 3/4 cents; Jan soybean meal closed at USD368.60, up USD2.20; Jan soybean oil closed at 56.82, down 33 points. Beans managed to post fresh highs despite poor export inspections and Argentine weather worries. China revised Dec soybean imports down from 5.8 MMT to 5.4 MMT and raised interest rates over the weekend, but the market just seems to want to go higher. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange report soybean plantings at 75% complete, 11% behind last year.

Corn

Mar 11 corn closed at USD6.23 1/4, up 8 cents; May 11 corn closed at USD6.31 1/4, up 8 1/4 cents. Drought in Argentina is probably more damaging to corn than soybeans at the moment as 50% of the corn crop is estimated to be at the the critical pollinating stage. "Argentina has begun a very hot and dry period where temperatures will reach 95-105F on a daily basis for at least the next ten days. Precipitation will be limited or nonexistent in all but the far SW and in S Brazil," say QT Weather.

Wheat

Mar 11 CBOT wheat closed at USD7.98 1/4, up 18 cents; Mar 11 KCBT wheat closed at USD8.60 1/2, up 16 3/4 cents; Mar 11 MGEX wheat closed at USD8.84 1/4, up 18 cents. Egypt bought one cargo of US wheat in today's tender, although they also booked two cargoes of Argentine wheat. Iraq is also said to be in the market for at least 100,000 MT of wheat this week. Ukraine has officially extended their grain export quota system until the end of the first quarter of 2011, increasing the limit to 4.2 MMT.