Grains and oilseeds lower on outside market pressure: October 1, 2009

Soybeans were lower on speculative and technical selling, along with spillover from the outside markets. The dollar was higher while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was sharply lower; crude oil was weak for most of the session before posting a firm finish. Weekly soybean sales were strong, but shipments were less than what’s needed to meet projections. Overall, between the outside market direction, slow physical shipments and the expectations for a record U.S. crop, it was hard for beans to get any traction. Still, demand remains solid and there are early harvest delays, keeping supplies scarce. Soybean products were mixed with oil up for the third session in a row on product spread trade and a strong week for export sales. Soybean meal was lower on that product spread trade and the supply implications of a record U.S. soybean crop.

Corn was lower on fund and technical selling, in addition to outside market direction. Weekly export sales for corn were larger than expected, but shipments remain slow. At least on Thursday, traders are largely discounting harvest delays or talk of increased drying costs due to wet weather. However, most months managed to close above key support points which David Kohli and other analysts pointed to as a fairly positive sign for corn in the near term. In any event, the trade will continue to keep an eye on the outside markets and weather. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling, along with spillover from the outside markets, beans and corn. The higher dollar makes U.S. goods more expensive on the export market, limiting competition. Wednesday’s USDA numbers were a continued negative, confirming the negative supply and demand fundamentals. Also, Deustche Bank AG announced plans to limit commodity positions to bring it in-line with CFTC rules. Statistics Canada will be releasing updated production estimates Friday. European wheat was higher on short covering in slow trade; November Paris was up 1.6% and November London was .8% higher.