Nogger's Blog

19/07/11 -- Soybeans: Aug 11 soybeans closed at USD13.79 1/4, down 6 1/4 cents; Nov 11 soybeans closed at USD13.82, down 4 1/4 cents; Aug 11 soybean meal closed at USD360.10, up USD0.80; Aug 11 soybean oil closed at 56.69, down 23 points. Having traded sharply higher early in the session this was probably quite a weak technical close. Weather forecasts look a bit less non-threatening a week from now although the crop is still still a few weeks away from its critical yield development stage. The USDA confirmed the sale of 110,000 of soybeans to unknown.

Corn: Sep 11 corn closed at USD6.98, up 1 3/4 cents; Dec 11 corn closed at USD6.87 1/4, up 10 1/4 cents. Corn crop ratings dropped 3 points good/excellent last night, but the market couldn't hold onto sharply higher early gains. Worries over European and US debt are keeping players extremely cautious despite weather concerns. A much more threatening US weather market seems to be needed than the one that currently exists to push prices back towards recent highs. Bulls keep talking about tight old crop stocks, the weather, anything that might keep the bullish flame flickering it would seem but they appear to be having difficulty convincing everybody else.

Wheat: Sep 11 CBOT wheat closed at USD6.93 1/2, up 4 cents; Sep 11 KCBT wheat closed at USD7.78, up 17 cents; Sep 11 MGEX wheat closed at USD8.33, up 10 1/2 cents. Wheat was well off session highs despite a weaker dollar as afternoon weather forecasts turned a little less threatening. It seems strange that wheat was leading the entire complex higher in early trade as US grain is now massively over-priced in relation to Russian material. Egypt agreed to add Ukraine back onto it's list of approved wheat suppliers, further reducing the chances of US wheat making inroads into the world's largest buyer.