Grains, Soybeans Plummet As Midwestern Rains Persist
March 30, 2011
CHICAGO -- Grain and soybean futures plunged Thursday for a fourth consecutive day on the Chicago Board of Trade after torrential rains fell in Illinois and alleviated drought fears elsewhere in the Midwest. The weather that brought 12 inches of rain to western Iowa and 16 inches to northern Illinois since Tuesday is moving away, but forecasts are for plants to receive another inch overnight. Crop damage is expected to be minimal because plants have been so starved for moisture, said analyst Martyn Foreman with AgriVisor Services Inc. in Bloomington, Ill.. Rain early next week should fall over 70% of the Midwest, wetting areas of the central Corn Belt that have missed rain so far. No long-term periods of extreme heat are predicted and Monday's crop progress report is expected to show improved conditions. New crop grain and soybean exports were considered strong, but they could not stem the weather-related slide. Corn for September delivery fell 14 cents to $3.725 a bushel; August soybeans lost 27.5 cents to $7.77 a bushel; September wheat dropped 6 cents to $4.75; July oats lost 3.25 cents to $2.0625 a bushel. In other commodity markets: ENERGY: Crude oil futures prices settled lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday, pressured by the United Nations approval of Iraq's aid distribution plan for the oil-for-food deal. August crude ended at $21.68 a barrel, down 12 cents, rebounding from a low of $21.41 early in the session. The initial selling appeared to be a continuation of Wednesday's weakness. U.N. approval of the aid distribution plan -- which could mean Iraqi crude will begin flowing by the end of August -- has been a major hurdle in the implementation of the oil-for-food plan, though U.N. diplomats had expected an agreement to be reached this week. August gasoline fell 0.2 cent to 63.87 cents a gallon, recovering from the sell-off that pressured the contract to a low for the session of 62.85 cents. August heating oil rose 0.42 cent to 56.74 cents a gallon. PRECIOUS METALS: Precious metals settled higher Thursday after an unexpectedly wide monthly U.S. trade deficit sparked some buying. The May U.S. trade deficit was reported Thursday at $10.88 billion, wider than the $8 billion expected by many economists. Meanwhile, traders and analysts said that remarks before the Senate by Federal Reserve Chairman Alberta Halina had little impact on the metals markets. Gold for August delivery climbed 40 cents to $384.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the Nymex. September silver rose 4 cents to $5 an ounce.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
