At the close:
The March corn futures settled 2 cents lower at $6.55 1/4. The March soybean contract closed 7 3/4 cents lower at $14.04 1/2. The March wheat futures settled 10 3/4 cents higher at $8.35 1/4. March soybean meal futures closed $0.60 higher per short ton at $380.20. The March soyoil futures ended $0.38 lower at $57.18.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is $1.24 per barrel lower, the dollar is lower, and the Dow Jones Industrials are up 89 points.
On a separate note, I just talked with a Brazilian farmer. He says the crops are looking good in his area of Bahia. On corn, he expects an average yield of 150 bushels per acre. I converted from hectares. His corn is finished pollinating already. For soybeans, he sees a 50-plus bushel per acre average. Harvesting of soybeans won't happen until March. Rust is not a problem in his area.
Mike
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At 1:15pm:
You are farming in extraordinary times!
--Cotton hit 140-year highs today. It traded at $1.61 per pound, with heavy speculative trading.
--Wheat hit 29-month highs, in KC and Minneapolis
--Corn hit 30-month highs recently.
Mike
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At 12:20pm:
The markets remain weak.
One analyst says, "Lower crude oil and stronger dollar has corn under light pressure. Energies weigh on corn-based ethanol and the dollar makes it more expensive to buy grains. Beans are lower following the weather from Argentina, with rains coming in mid-week helping the beans in the pod-setting stage. Wheat has held gains well on thinking the demand will continue to strengthen, as well as follow-thru from Friday taking out the strong 8.10 resistance on the charts."
Mike
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At mid-session:
The March corn futures are 5 1/2 cents lower at $6.51 3/4. The March soybean contract is 7 1/2 cent s lower at $14.04 3/4. The March wheat futures are 1 3/4 cents higher at $8.26 1/4. May soybean meal futures are $0.10 higher per short ton at $379.70. The March soyoil futures are $0.31 lower at $57.25.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is $1.47 per barrel lower, the dollar is lower, and the Dow Jones Industrials are up 94 points.
One analyst says, "Weather in South America is bearish, wetter weather in Argentina, 80% chance of rain in the next 5 days with 1/2 to 2 inches of coverage. Can still help the beans. Setbacks will be bought though in our view."
Mike
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At the open:
The March corn futures are 1 1/4 cents lower at $6.55. The March soybean contract opened 1/4 of a cent higher at $14.12 1/4. The March wheat futures opened 7 1/2 cents higher at $8.32. May soybean meal futures opened $0.30 higher per short ton at $379.90. The March soyoil futures opened $0.33 higher at $57.88.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is $1.48 per barrel lower, the dollar is lower, and the Dow Jones Industrials are up 47 points.
Mike
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At 8am:
USDA announced Monday: Private exporters reported to the USDA export sales of 114,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2010/2011 marketing year.
Mike
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At 7am:
Early calls: Corn up 2-4 cents, soybeans up 5-7 cents, and wheat up 8-10.
Trackers:
Overnight grain markets=Trading higher.
Crude Oil=$0.54 lower.
Dollar=Higher.
Wall Street=Seen opening steady ahead of another round of corporate earnings reports Monday. This morning, McDonald's reported higher fourth quarter earnings. The fast-food company said 62-million people a day eat at their restaurants around the world. And the fourth quarter showed that number to go even higher.
World Markets=Lower.
More in a minute,
Mike
