Chicago Close - Friday

10/12/10 -- Soybeans

Jan 11 soybeans closed at USD12.73, down 8 1/2 cents; Dec 10 soybean meal closed at USD339.10, down USD0.80; Dec 10 soybean oil closed unchanged at 53.79. Overall beans were down 27 cents for the week. The USDA lowered US soybean ending stocks by 20 million bushels to 165 million, that was in line with trade ideas. Production in Brazil and Argentina was left unchanged, as too were Chinese imports. World ending stocks fell by 1.3 MMT.

Corn

Dec 10 corn closed unchanged at USD5.60 1/4; Mar 11 corn also closed unchanged at USD5.74 1/4. Prices were up a fraction on the week. The USDA increased US corn ending stocks by 5 million bushels to 832 million bushels, contrary to expectations of a small decrease. Despite widespread expectations, the ethanol grind wasn’t increased. World corn ending stocks were also a little higher than last month at 130 MMT. Argentina remains dry in the east as corn there starts to enter the pollination stage.

Wheat

Dec 10 CBOT wheat closed at USD7.35 1/2, down 12 3/4 cents; Dec 10 KCBT wheat closed at USD8.22 1/4, down 12 cents; Dec 10 MGEX wheat closed at USD8.54 1/4, up 1/4 cent. The gap between Chicago and the high protein MGEX contracts continues to widen, reflecting the global tightness in availability of quality wheat. On the week overall CBOT wheat was down 2 cents, but Kansas wheat rose 11 cents and MGEX was up 37 cents. The USDA increased US ending stocks by 10 million bushels, a bit more than expected.