Headlines:

  • Wheat plunges close to contract low, while US data lift soyoil
    Whatever corn futures can do, wheat futures can have a crack at too. That is, after December corn set a contract low in Chicago in the last session, wheat futures looked to be trying the same in this one, although failing by a small margin with an hour’s trading or so to go. This despite Chicago’s December wheat contract tumbling 2.3% to $4.18 a bushel. The contract low was still 1.75 cents away. The underperformance of wheat against a December corn lot which added 0.2% to $3.38 ¼ a bushel resumed a frequent seasonal pattern of wheat prices underperforming those of corn, whose values gain some buoyancy from the wind-down of the US harvest, and an easing in pressure on that score. Some risk premium is sometimes injected into prices of corn, and soybeans, at this time to year too to reflect the risk of setbacks to Brazil’s crops, as harvested early in the calendar year (although second crop corn is only seeded then).
  • Robusta coffee prices face ‘potential flare-up’, says Olam boss
    Robusta coffee prices may be poised for a “potential flare-up”, Olam International said, seeing scope for rise in arabica bean values too, but viewing cocoa prices as poised for a “flat-to-bearish” performance. The Robusta market is showing some signals often interpreted as upbeat for prices, with the premium of the spot contract to forward lots growing, typically seen as symptomatic of a relative squeeze on short-term supplies, and “tightening” price differentials, Olam said. “Indonesian differentials are extremely tight”, Sunny Verghese, chief executive and founder of the Singapore-based ag trader, told investors. “But across the board in many of the Robusta origins, we see very tightening differentials,” he said, noting too the role of harvest delays from rain in “firming up differential prices” in Vietnam, the top Robusta grower.

 

Summary:

The US Dollar traded slightly lower as it continues to move away from resistance that as at 95.10. Crude Oil futures were also weaker and tested our first downside level of support at 54.80. Corn was basically flat today finishing from 1 to 4 ticks higher. After two days of strong weakness Soybean found a bit of a technical bounce after being oversold. Beans were up 8.50 to 8.75 cents on the day. News of demand from China also made headlines helping to bolster the move in Beans today. COFCO Corporation reported that China will import 100 million metric tons of soybeans in 2017-18 which is an estimate that comes in higher than official Chinese and USDA estimates. Wheat futures returned to weakness giving up 6.50 to 7.25 cents. We will look to tomorrow’s USDA Weekly Export figures for potential increased price volatility but as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday we may see muted action.