Weekly Roberts Report
US - Agricultural US Commodity Market Report by Mike Roberts, Commodity Marketing Agent, Virginia Tech.
LEAN HOGS on the CME were off on Monday with the exception of the nearby October. OCT09LH futures finished up $0.050/cwt at $44.700/cwt. The DEC09LH contract closed down $0.250/cwt at $44.575/cwt. While lower commodities and outside influences put a drag on prices short-covering and bull spreading made up for the a mixed bag of prices. In addition, lack of any fresh news regarding increased sow slaughter, expectations for persistent large hog supplies, and slow exports continued to pressure prices. USDA on Friday put the average pork price at $52.52/cwt, off $2.05/cwt from this time last week. The latest CME Lean Hog Index was placed at $49.73/lb, down $0.56/lb. Canada is reportedly offering to pay producers to stop raising hogs by offering loans to help restructure and paying a premium of $500.00 C per sow to the producer. Cash hog prices were generally steady with HedgersEdge.com lowering the average pork plant margin $1.00/head to a positive $6.25/head. This was based on the average buy of $34.65/cwt vs. the average breakeven price of $36.99/cwt. Move market hogs when ready.
CORN futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed down on Monday. The SEPT’09 contract closed at $3.142/bu; off 5.0¢/bu. DEC’09 corn futures finished at $3.216/bu; down 6.0¢/bu. Pressure from falling stock prices, lower crude oil futures, a higher US dollar, weak exports, and good corn-growing weather all weighed on prices. Sell stops were noted in December 2009 futures. USDA placed corn-inspected-for-export at 40.881 mi bu vs. expectations for 44-48 mi bu. The latest Pro Farmer Midwest Crop tour is finding a good crop growing in the fields. Cash corn was steady in both the US Midwest and US Mid-Atlantic states. Large speculators added 2,126 contracts to net bull positions while funds sold between 8-10 thousand contracts. Hopefully 70 per cent of the 2009 crop has been sold.
SOYBEAN futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed off again on Monday. The SEPT’09 contract closed down 36.5¢/bu at $9.880/bu. The NOV’09 contract closed at $9.544/bu; off 27.0¢/bu. The same pressures affecting corn weighed on soybeans. Funds and other non-commercials noted long-liquidation, selling over 5,000 lots. Exports were disappointing with USDA reporting soybeans-inspected-for-export at 5.620 mi bu vs. expectations between 6-13 mi bu. The US crop tour kicked off this week expecting to see a good crop. Speculators added to net bull positions as cash soybean prices plummeted in the country. Up to 70-80 per cent of the new crop should be priced at this time.
WHEAT futures in Chicago (CBOT) were off on Monday. SEPT’09 wheat futures finished down 10.0¢/bu at $4.710/bu. The JULY’10 wheat contract closed at $5.412/bu; off 9.5¢/bu. Futures are technically weak with contract lows posting in many months. Exports were neutral with USDA posting wheat-inspected-for-export at 13.915 mi bu vs. expectations for between 11-17 mi bu. Funds sold about 4,000 lots while large speculators added to net bear positions posting 54,196 sold contracts as of 11 August.
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