US Closing Grain Report

07/12/2012 (Live Trading News) - Wheat futures were choppy Thursday and enjoyed late Short-covering on help from Soybean futures. Wheat futures at all 3 exchanges favored a firmer tone by the close. Strength in the USD index and a disappointing weekly export sales tally limited buying to Short-covering throughout the day.

Corn futures sank with the start of open-outcry trade. Futures ended off session lows, but posted losses of 2 to 5 cents in most contracts. The combination of strength in the USD index and a disappointing weekly export sales tally weighed on Corn futures today.

Soybean futures favored a firmer tone throughout the day, but buying was somewhat limited by negative outside markets. Late-session buying pushed soybeans to session highs on the close, with 10- to 12-cent gains through the Aug contract. Support this morning was tied to stronger-than-expected weekly export sales of 1,142,700 MT for 2012-13 and sales of 1,100 MT for 2013-14.

Up Date: Palm Oil, Argentina Wheat, US Soybean

Malaysian Palm Oil futures edged up 0.4% as traders bet on demand rising in the face of tighter supplies of competing Soyoil due to unfavorable weather in Argentina.

The Wheat harvest in grains powerhouse Argentina will be smaller than expected and of poorer quality this season as farmers slog through waterlogged fields, trying to save their crops from toxic fungi bred by too much rain.

US Soybeans rose to their highest in almost a month, lifted by expectations of a jump in Chinese demand and concerns about supplies from Argentina, where unfavorable wet weather is threatening crop yields.

Corn fell, giving back some of the gains from the previous session as traders locked in profits, while Wheat was little changed on the day Thursday.