Wednesday April 7, 2010

Fact of day: It was on this day in 1862 that General Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederate army at Shiloh.

Good afternoon! I hope all is well and this finds you in good health and spirits! AG markets were on the defensive for most of the day. Initially down, the market valiantly battled back to end on a positive note. Corn was in the red for most of the day and soybeans saw mixed trade across the board. We hear our Chinese buddies are looking to import some corn. It wasn't until some rumors started of Chinese import certifications that the market responded positively. Corn closed the day at $3.56 up 10 cents. Soybeans were up 8 cents and closed at $9.52.

With news coming from China today and the lack of news this past week, it appeared the market was in dire need of reacting to something. Thankfully it did so positively. Other news is that farmers are getting after it with some field work this past week. Prior to the .5-3" of rain that Illinois has received, a lot of guys were doing some field work and and applying anhydrous. Certain areas in Iowa and Minnesota (along the Mississippi River corridor) have run out of anhydrous. A blessing in disguise for suppliers has been the rain. This has allowed for fertilizer supplies to get replenished. Areas around St. Louis are planting in the high and dry areas. Reports coming from Texas are saying corn is 'knee high'.

Logistic concerns in South America still persist. The labor strikes have officially been resolved until next harvest. Reports from Africa/Middle East have told us that countries are offering premiums for South American corn. Egypt is offering +30 cent premium on South American corn over Uncle Sam corn because of quality issues.

The Illinois River market has seen the corn basis firm this past week. River corn basis is -.045 currently. May basis is -.03. Though the basis has firmed up nicely, it seems that it's going to take some better CBOT prices to encourage some movement. The CIF market has been relatively quite recently and looks like it's going to be a grind for a while. It will be interesting to see what happens with the rally today and if it will shake some bushels loose. The Illinois River CFS (cubic feet per second) has not done much with all the precipitation this spring. Thankfully the water levels have not played too big of a role in loading barges yet. Our Morris Terminal is offering a premium on corn over 54lb. test weight.

Stay classy Illinois,
Nathaniel Dubravec