Chicago agricultural commodities settle higher
Xinhua, February 8, 2017 Adjust font size:
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed higher Tuesday with soybean futures rising on continued strong export demand as overseas buyers waited for the bulk of the expected bumper South America harvest to come online.
Corn futures also firmed, finding technical support after dipping to Monday's low. Wheat ended higher on a round of short-covering.
Both corn and wheat settled near session highs after breaking through key technical resistance points late in the session.
The most active corn contract for March delivery rose 4.75 cents, or 1.31 percent, to 3.685 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery rose 8.25 cents, or 1.95 percent, to 4.3075 dollars per bushel. March soybeans added 6.75 cents, or 0.65 percent, to 10.4275 dollars per bushel.
In the outside markets, the Brent crude oil market is 0.86 dollar per barrel lower, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 37 points higher, reaching a new record-high, along with the NASDAQ.
Jack Scoville, The PRICE Futures Group's Senior Market Analyst, says it has been mostly a slow day without much news.
"Most are bearish the soybeans with the Brazil crop coming on, but not hearing much about corn or wheat," Scoville says.
On Tuesday, the USDA announced fresh corn sales. Private exporters reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture export sales of 128,000 tons of corn for delivery to Japan during the 2016/2017 marketing year.
Traders noted position squaring ahead of the U.S. Agriculture Department's monthly supply and demand report, set for release on Thursday. Endit