Commodity Blog

Archive for December 14th, 2009

Soybeans increased with rising demand for the oilseed, used to make animal feed and vegetable oil. Soybeans price was aided by record soybean-meal exports. January futures for soybean delivery increased $0.195 (1.9 percent) to $10.545 per bushel as of 10:21 on CBT.

Wheat price reached the highest level this month on speculation that farmers in the U.S. are holding sales, waiting till spot prices narrow the gap with futures on CBT. The market is bullish for farmers, so they are withholding supplies until spot prices rise to narrow the so-called basis or the spread with futures. March futures for wheat delivery gained $0.0825 (1.5 percent) to $5.4575 per bushel at 10:21 on CBT.

Crude oil little changed, remaining near a two-month low, on forecast that recovery of demand will be slow. Oil slid 1.8 percent after reports that industrial output is declining in Europe and the consumer confidence in Japan haven’t noticeably improved this year. Analysts predict that oil would trade in a $60-to-$80 range for the next couple of months. January delivery for crude oil added $0.05 to $69.92 per barrel by 10:36 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Latest commodity prices (ICE, NYMEX, CME) as of 17:19 GMT:

Oil (Brent) — $72.11
Gold — $1,123.30
Silver — $17.30
Palladium — $364.52
Platinum — $1,429.15
Copper — $6,905.00
Aluminum — $2,255.00
Nickel — $16,905.00
Zinc — $2,339.00
Cocoa — $3,401.00
Sugar — $25.03
Corn — $391.75
Soybean — $39.73