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Click on News/Business tab to read more about topics below:
Is Ethanol getting a bum rap?.........................5/12/08
1.5% of 43% food increase attributable to Ethanol.....5/8/08
More on Food v. Fuel argument.........................5/7/08
Solution to high food prices..........................5/2/08
Energy prices, not ethanol, driving food costs........5/1/08
5/15/08
GTE NEWS:
Our regular business hours for grain receiving and DDG load-out are Monday through Friday 8-4:30.
Area Corn Bids:
Del. & (Fut. Month) GTEC St. Joseph Bunge (Atch.)
May (Jul) 5.57(-.42) 5.62 5.62
Jun (Jul) 5.63(-.37) 5.72
Jul (Jul) 5.65(-.34) 5.76
Aug (Sept) 5.69(-.42)
Sept (Dec) 5.74(-.50)
Oct (Dec) 5.75(-.47)
Nov (Dec) 5.75(-.47)
Dec (Dec) 5.81(-.40)
Jan (Mar) 5.83(-.53)
Feb (Mar) 5.86(-.51)
Today’s Market Info:
Outside Markets: 5/15/2008
June crude oil futures put in a wild day and ended up about where they started. Today’s session high was $126.64 (barely off of the all time high established on Tuesday) and the low was $120.75, so we saw nearly a $6 range today alone. It is currently trading at $124.13, down 9 cents. The market was crazy due to June option expiration and a power outage that shut down the exchange’s electronic trading platform. Grains and oilseeds sold off sharply when the crude was down hard but rallied back later in the session.
The U. S. dollar is down slightly. If it is true that the Fed is about done cutting interest rates it may well be that the dollar has made a low but it has sure not headed off to the races on the upside either. June gold futures are $15.70 higher at $882.20. The S and P June stock index futures are up 12.40 points at 1420.20 and the Dow June futures are 86 points higher at 12.965.
The Labor Department said today that new applications for unemployment benefits increased by 6000 last week to 371,000. This was in line with expectations. Jobless claims have increased every week for the last four months but this is the smallest increase in that time frame. However, this is the third straight week that the number claiming jobless benefits has been above 3 million people.
July Corn: 5.990 +2 ¾
July corn ended up 2 3/4 cents to $5.99, Sep was up 3 cents to $6.11 1/4 and Dec was up 2 cents to $6.22 1/2. The corn market was pressured early by sharply lower soybeans and warmer and drier weather forecasts. However, the market rallied off of the lows ahead of the close. Commercials decided to own some corn and marched the market higher into the close. The rally from the lows was very impressive given the soybean weakness. We are not sure if a large commercial firm did some export business or their internal weather people added moisture to the Midwest. It will be interesting to see if the market can add to the gains overnight.
July Beans: 13.474 -32
July soybeans closed down 32 1/2 cents at $13.47 a bushel. The bean market was near limit down at one point today, but did rally back somewhat, due to strength in corn, ahead of the close. Did the soybean market get pressured by outside markets, or thoughts that the strike in Argentina might end or wet weather has decreased corn acreage and added to bean acres? It is difficult to figure out what the soybean market is trading right now. However, ending stocks are LOW, Argentina is going to have farmer unrest for months to come we believe, soybean planting is running behind normal and the growing season is JUST starting. This leaves us to believe unbelievable volatility is likely in coming months with bulls and bears scratching their heads on any given day.
Comments By:
Crop Risk
www.croprisk.com
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