Friday's Closing Market Prices.
Mar. corn closed at $7.27 and 1/2, up 3 cents
Mar. soybeans closed at $14.39 and 1/4, down 1 cent
Mar. soybean meal closed at $414.40, up 40 cents
Mar. soybean oil closed at 51.68, up 19 points
Mar. wheat closed at $7.91 and 1/4, up 10 cents
Feb. live cattle closed at $124.95, down $1.65
Feb. lean hogs closed at $85.35, down 60 cents
Feb. crude oil closed at $95.56, up 7 cents
Mar. cotton closed at 78.55, up 77 points
Feb. Class III milk closed at $17.28, down 22 cents
Feb. gold closed at $1,687.00, down $3.80
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,649.70, up 53.68 points
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Market News and ReCap
Soybeans were mostly firm ahead of the three day weekend with markets closed Monday. There was no fresh news and the outside markets were mixed during the futures session, not really providing any direction either. The dollar was up, crude oil was firm, gold was down, and the Dow eventually closed at its’ highest level since December 10, 2007. At this point, the trade’s watching weather in South America with generally good conditions expected over the near term. In their monthly update, Informa Economics now sees 2013 U.S. soybean acreage at 78.777 million acres, down slightly from the December guess. Soybean meal was mixed, mostly firm, and bean oil was up modestly with deferreds outgaining nearbys. Argentina’s Ag Ministry reports 84% of early planted soybeans are in good to excellent shape.
Corn was higher on short covering and commercial buying. There was no fresh news for corn either but the near term supply is tight and the trade expects good domestic demand, especially feed demand. Past that – traders seem wary about pushing prices too far to either the downside or the upside. Informa Economics now projects 2013 U.S. corn planted area at 99.303 million acres, compared to the December estimate of 99.03 million. Ethanol futures were higher.
The wheat complex was higher on short covering and commercial buying. There was also no new news for wheat, but Chicago does expect decent feed demand over the near term. Kansas City and Minneapolis are watching weather closely with generally dry conditions in the forecast for the Plains. Informa Economics sees total 2013 U.S. wheat acreage at 56.2 million acres, with winter wheat at 41.820 million, spring wheat at 12.484 million, and durum at 1.940 million. European wheat was flat after a sideways session. South Korea’s Nonghyup Feed Inc. bought 60,000 tons of optional origin feed wheat, Tunisia picked up 75,000 tons of optional origin durum and 50,000 tons of optional origin soft wheat, and in sell-buy-sell trade, Japan purchased 120,000 tons of feed wheat. Argentina’s Ag Ministry states 2012/13 wheat production was 10.1 million tons, compared to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange’s earlier estimate of 9.8 million tons.
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