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Roundup: Chicago agricultural commodities end mixed over the week

Xinhua, May 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed mixed over the trade week which ended on May 12, with soybean and wheat futures trading lower while corn futures modestly higher.

Corn futures are bound in a rather narrow range and the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) highly anticipated May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report (WASDE) did little to change this.

The USDA provided no real different insight and the updated balance sheets are viewed as positive.

Old crop global grain stocks were raised yet again, South American cash basis remains historically weak, and amid abnormal rainfall in Brazil over the next 10 days, massive exports beginning in July are nearly certain.

Corn's new crop U.S. & world balance sheets, however, look to tighten, even amid trend yields, and analysts do not advice chasing breaks below 3.60 U.S. dollars.

Wheat futures ended slightly lower on fund and producer selling. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's report last week revealed a smaller than expected fund net short position, and selling resumed amid improving conditions in Europe, Ukraine and Russia.

However, high protein U.S. wheat inventories will be declining in 2017/18, and this has offered support on breaks.

Soybean futures were on both sides of unchanged through the week before ending lower. The May WASDE report did not offer any major surprises as changes to the USDA's balance sheet estimates had been largely expected.

Old crop exports were increased, crush lowered slightly and stocks slipped back to the March estimate level of 435 million bushels. New crop supply was also anticipated from the March acreage figure.

South American crop estimates increased slightly, but those figures have been anticipated for many weeks.

Funds have started to cover, but are still heavily short, while only light hedge related selling was noted last week. But with prices still against harvest lows, world farmers are not anxious sellers. Endit