Commodity Blog

Posts Tagged ‘crops’

Wheat rose today to a monthly high on concerns that cold weather in Europe will hurt output. Temperatures in Ukraine may fall below 15 degree Fahrenheit, threatening crops, especially those not covered with snow. At the same time, Russia is considering a tax on exports.

Additionally, wheat was rising with other commodities on speculation that Greece is making progress in debt-reduction discussions. The European leaders agreed about sanctions on countries with high budget deficit.

Wheat price climbed from $6.4475 to $6.6625 per bushel as of 21:24 GMT today on CBoT after reaching $6.6750 — the highest since January 3.

Corn and soybeans fell on forecast that rains may alleviate drought in South America. Global Weather Monitoring predicted that about 90 percent of areas planted with soybeans in Argentina and Brazil will get as much as 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rainfall. Previously, the region suffered from drought, therefore the forecast increases prospects for output.

Returning worries about the debt crisis in the European Union also hurt the commodities. European leaders were meeting yesterday at summit in Brussels. Investors are concerned that previously planned measures won’t be enough to contain spread of the problems across the eurozone.

Corn traded near $6.3200 per bushel today as of 00:43 GMT on CBoT, following the slump from $6.3925 to $6.3200 yesterday. Soybeans traded at $11.8900 per bushel today after falling from $12.1425 to $11.8525.

Cocoa dropped on concerns about the European crisis and the slower-than-expected economic growth in the United States. Traders remained concerned about the potential outcome of talks among Greece and its creditors. US gross domestic product rose 2.8 percent in the last quarter, while the expected growth was 3.0 percent. It’s still better than the 1.8 percent advance in the third quarter of 2011.

Earlier, the agricultural commodity reached the highest price since November as European NYSE-monitored stockpiles fell 1.8 percent since January 9. Additionally, concerns that dry weather in Ivory Coast will hurt output were boosting prices.

Cocoa closed at $2,361 per metric ton on ICE, falling from the opening of $2,452. Intraday, the price reached $2,480 — the highest level since November 14.

Corn and wheat dropped today after the US Department of Agriculture predicted that global stockpiles will grow. Soybeans also declined. The USDA projected that world wheat inventories will increase by 1.5 million metric tons to 210.0 million in the 2011–12 season, global corn stockpiles will grow 1.0 million tons to 128.1 million tons and soybean ending stocks are projected to be higher by 45 million at 275 million bushels.

Earlier, the agricultural commodities were rising as adverse weather posed threat to crops in South America. Nevertheless, the estimates of the USDA showed that lower supply from the region will be mostly offset by production in other parts of the world.

Wheat slipped from $6.4125 to $6.0500 per bushel as of 23:47 GMT today on CBoT. Corn tumbled from $6.5125 to $6.1150 per bushel, while soybeans fell from $11.9775 to $11.7350 per bushel today.

Corn and soybeans were rising today on concerns that bad weather in South America may hurt crops. Later the agricultural commodities reversed its trend. Corn closed above the opening price, while soybeans ended session with losses.

The continuing drought in Brazil and Argentina is worse than forecasters previously estimated and yield may be lower than was anticipated. The US Department of Agriculture predicted that Argentina will harvest 29 million metric tons of corn and 52 million tons of soybeans.

The problems in the European Union reduced demands for commodities, including corn and soybeans. A report of the European Commission showed that the economic sentiment in the eurozone declined.

Corn closed at $6.4350 per bushel on CBoT today after opening at $6.4200 and climbing to $6.4950. Soybeans fell from $11.9800 per bushel to close at $11.8852, following the advance to $12.0900.

Corn jumped today in the longest rally this year on concerns about dry weather in South America. Commodity Weather Group predicted that about 50 percent of the crops in Argentina will be dry in the next 10 days and about a third of Brazil’s crops will also suffer from drought. Corn advanced from $6.3200 to $6.4125 per bushel today as of 23:32 GMT on CBoT and reached $6.4625 earlier — the highest price since November 16.

Oil declined as concerns about the European debt crisis intensified. The European Central Bank boosted lending to banks of the eurozone, spurring speculation that the European financial system is failing. February futures for crude oil delivery dropped $1.98 to $99.36 per barrel on NYMEX. Brent crude declined from $109.06 to 107.41 per barrel today on ICE after falling earlier to $106.77.

Corn retreated today on the forecast of rising global supplies. The crop reached the highest price in a month yesterday.

The US Department of Agriculture estimated that the world production will grow 4.8 percent to 867.5 million metric tons in the 2011–12 season. The global stockpiles will shrink by just 0.8 percent, demonstrating the smallest drop in three years. The output from the United States is expected to decline by 1.1 percent, by the growth of the production in other parts of the world, including the European Union and Russia, should surpass the predicted drop. Supply is rising as farmers reacted to the record prices this year by boosting production.

Corn prices advanced yesterday on the speculation that adverse weather in South America would hurt crops in South America and would increase demand for supplies from the USA. The prices reached the highest level since November 17.

Corn spot price was down from $6.1550 to $6.1450 per bushel as of 3:27 GMT today on CBoT. Yesterday, the price jumped from $6.0575 to $6.1675, while the daily high was $6.1900. The prices reached the record level of $7.9975 on June 10.

Corn and soybeans gained on the concerns about the adverse weather in Argentina and Brazil. Forecasters said that hot, dry weather may hurt crops in the South African countries. Corn climbed from $5.7825 to close at $5.8275 per bushel on CBoT. Soybeans advanced from $11.1225 to $11.2975 per bushel.

Coffee fell as inventories grew. ICE-monitored stockpiles rose for the fifth consecutive week and have increased 20 percent since November 1. The prices may still rebound as the forecast of the US Department of Agriculture showed that the balance of supply and demand may result in deficit. Coffee prices declined from $2.1340 to $2.1095 per pound on ICE.

The sugar futures managed to pare their recent losses and reach the highest level in more than a week today amid the positive market sentiment. It’s based on the German approval of the additional powers for the eurozone bail-out fund, better fundamental reports from the United States and the increasing expectations of poor sugar production in Brazil.

Brazil is holding the worlds leadership in sugarcane growing with about 37 percent share of the global industry. News of the decreased sugarcane crops in this country due to the bad weather conditions have inspired the market last Friday. Now the seeds of these speculations have fallen on a fertile soil of the global market optimism.

German Bundestag approved the extra rights for the European Financial Stability Facility — the eurozone bail-out fund. The new functions will include buying bonds on the secondary markets, recapitalization of the banks and issuing the precautionary credits. This will most likely help to contain the European debt crisis, increasing the global demand for commodities.

The US statistics played its role in the rise of sugar prices today — last week’s unemployment claims turned out to be about 7 percent lower than the median forecast of the economic strategists was showing. Additionally, the second quarter of 2011 GDP growth figure was revised positively in the United States. These factors added to the reasons for the bull markets today.

Sugar futures contracts with September 30 delivery rose from $25.62 to $27.08 for 112 pounds or about 5.7 percent as of 17:47 GMT today. The highest intraday level was at $27.64 — commodity’s maximum price since September 21.

Wheat futures fell today as weather forecast improved prospects for US crops, while increasing output from Russia and Eastern Europe may decrease demand for US exports.

Harvest in the US was threatened by drought. Recent rains in parts of the Midwest eased concerns about the current harvest and planting of winter wheat.

The government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported today that Russia may harvest more than 90 million metric tons of wheat. Wheat profited from the ban of exports by Russia last year, but as the nation ended the ban the grain is under pressure.

December settlement for wheat slipped $0.0425 (0.5 percent) to $7.9075 per bushel as of 13:15 on CBoT.