| INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
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| SOURCE : REUTERS Updated: 08 February 2012 |
| 1. CORN |
| 1.1. CBOT corn ends weaker ahead of USDA reports Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower Tuesday on positioning ahead of Thursday's USDA February crop production and supply/demand reports. Declines were slowed by a weaker dollar. The euro gained against the greenback after a Greek official said the government was drafting an agreement on a bailout deal that will be put before political leaders for approval later in the day. "I think for the next couple of days we'll see positioning ahead of the USDA reports on Thursday. Markets were overbought after the recent gains and are just setting back before we see the USDA numbers," said Shawn McCambridge, analyst for Jefferies Bache. "The market is expecting the corn balance sheet to tighten but USDA has surprised in the past so everyone is cautious," McCambridge said. "But corn should find good underlying support." U.S. farmers are expected to plant the most area to corn this spring since 1944 and assuming normal weather a record corn crop could be realized. Corn continues to command a far superior return profile than soybeans which will lead to a big expansion of corn acreage this year-Gavin Maguire. Occasional showers continued to dot key South American soy and corn growing areas, providing relief to the pod-setting soy but the rainfall was too late to revive the corn crop in Argentina that was harmed by hot and dry weather. A turn to dry weather in Argentina for the next seven days should not cause any problems for crops. "Argentina will be dry for awhile but they've had decent rains for the past couple of weeks," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring. Key support for March at its 100 day moving average of $6.34-3/4 and resistance at the 200 day ma of $6.65-1/4. The nine-day RSI was at 60. (Reporting By Sam Nelson) |
| 2. WHEAT |
| 2.1. CBOT wheat ends lower as European weather improves CHICAGO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures closed lower on Tuesday, led by a 1.2 percent decline in the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade March soft red winter wheat contract, on pressure from moderating weather in key European crop-growing areas. Traders also noted some profit-taking following a rally on Monday. Concerns about dry weather in the northern U.S. Plains limiting production of spring wheat this year supported MGEX prices for much of the day but a wave of selling shortly before the closing bell pushed prices into negative territory. Tunisia's state grains agency issued a tender to buy 50,000 tonnes of soft wheat. Algeria tendered to buy 100,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat for April shipment, European traders said. Ukraine will have 6.3 million tonnes of wheat for export in the 2012/13 season, UkrAgroConsult said. A flour mill in Oman purchased 50,000 tonnes of Kazakhstan-origin wheat in international tender for 40,000 tonnes for $306 a tonne c&f, European traders said. Light precipitation expected to boost soil moisture reserves in the U.S. Plains on Tuesday. More snow expected during the weekend, with 3 to 6 inches forecast for Kansas and northern Oklahoma, said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring. (Reporting by Mark Weinraub;Editing by Lisa Shumaker) |
| 3. SOYBEANS |
| 3.1. CBOT soy ends lower on better S. American weather Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed lower on Tuesday on improved crop weather in South America and on positioning ahead of the release on Thursday of USDA's February crop production and supply/demand reports. Occasional showers continued to dot key South American soy- and corn-growing areas, providing relief to the pod-setting soy but the rainfall was too late to revive the corn crop in Argentina that was harmed by hot and dry weather. A turn to dry weather in Argentina for the next seven days should not cause any problems for crops. "Argentina will be dry for a while but they've had decent rains for the past couple of weeks," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring. Declines were slowed by a weak dollar. The euro gained after a Greek official said the country's government was drafting an agreement on a bailout deal that would be put before political leaders for approval later in the day. Soybeans also found underpinning from the weak dollar, gains in crude oil that buoyed soyoil and prospects for a cut in South American soy output which will shrink the available supplies of soy for the next marketing year (2012-13). "I think the gains in crude oil helped and there are forecasts for tightening soybean stocks for 2012-13 as South America's crop declines," said Dan Cekander, analyst for Newedge USA. U.S. farmers are expected to plant the most area to corn this spring since 1944 and increase slightly their soybean area from last year. Corn continues to command a far superior return profile than soybeans, which will lead to a big expansion of corn acreage this year and only a minor expansion of soybean area --Gavin Maguire. China, the world's largest importer of soybeans, is likely to buy more U.S. soybeans this quarter, as a withering drought is expected to cut the South American harvest, pushing soy prices higher. Exporters sell 20,000 tonnes U.S. soybean oil to Morocco for 2011/12 delivery -- USDA. Key support for March at its 100-day moving average of $12.07-1/4 and resistance at the 200-day ma of $12.91-1/4. The nine-day RSI was at 61. (Reporting by Sam Nelson in Chicago; Editing by Dale Hudson) |