SF: Corn, Wheat Futures Called Higher; Soybeans May Drop
May 17 (Bloomberg) -- What follows are opening calls for U.S. grain and oilseed markets.
-- Corn futures are called to open steady to 1 cent a bushel higher on the Chicago Board of Trade on speculation that the lowest prices in two weeks will boost demand for U.S. exports and discourage sales by farmers, said Chad Henderson, a market analyst for Prime Agricultural Consultants Inc. in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
-- Wheat futures may open 1 cent to 2 cents a bushel higher on the CBOT, the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange on speculation that the lowest price in almost six weeks will increase demand for U.S. supplies, Henderson said.
-- Soybean futures may open 3 cents to 5 cents a bushel lower in Chicago on speculation that demand for U.S. supplies is slowing as importers buy more from Brazil and Argentina, Henderson said. Soybean-meal futures may open 50 cents to $1 lower per 2,000 pounds, and soybean oil is expected to open 0.1 cent to 0.2 cent a pound lower, he said.
-- U.S. stocks rose, halting a two-day slump, as a rebound in the euro from a more than four-year low spurred optimism that the European debt crisis will abate. {NXTW NSN L2KGFA6NKN0A }
-- Global demand for long-term U.S. financial assets strengthened in March to a record as investors from China to the U.K. purchased the most Treasuries since November, a Treasury Department report said. {NXTW NSN KZIZKG1A74E9 }
-- Emerging-market stocks fell the most in six days and currencies weakened on concern China's measures to curb real- estate speculation and spending cuts by indebted European governments will slow economic growth. {NXTW NSN L2KFGU07SXKY }
-- The euro pared losses after touching the lowest level in more than four years against the dollar on concern that European measures to reduce fiscal deficits will undermine the 16-nation currency region's recovery. {NXTW NSN L2KBUK1A1I4H }
-- Trader demand for insurance against a slide in the euro is the highest in more than seven years as they bet that European plans to fix the region's debt crisis will worsen the currency's slide. {NXTW NSN L2KB1O0D9L37 }
-- Farmers in China's northeastern Jilin have completed this year's corn planting following delays as weather improved last week, researcher JCCE.CN said. {NXTW NSN L2K6UN1A74E9 }
-- China's 2010 rapeseed output may decline because of heavy rains in southern regions, researcher Cnyouzhi.com said on its website. Still, output may fall by no more than 1.5 million metric tons as most of the affected areas are not major producers, it said. It did not give an actual output forecast. {NXTW NSN L2JOT66SETC1 }
-- China's soybean imports this month may be 4.5 million metric tons, mostly from South America, the China National Grain & Oils Information Center said. Soybean-oil shipments in May might be 313,000 tons and may surge in June. {NXTW NSN L2JII56SETC3 }
-- Ukraine's grain stockpiles fell to 7.7 million metric tons as of May 1, a 28 percent decline from a year earlier, the country's statistics office said. {NXTW NSN L2K8771A1I4H }
-- Commodity prices may rebound 17 percent by the end of the year as a "technical sell signal" is reversed, according to Tiberius Asset Management AG. {NXTW NSN L2JWVU0YHQ0X }
-- Rice production in the Philippines may decline by a more- than-estimated 902,000 metric tons in the first nine months of the year, widening a production deficit. {NXTW NSN L2JOXB0UQVI9 }
-- South Africa's corn farmers, buoyed by unexpectedly good rains and increased use of genetically modified seed, are preparing to reap their biggest crop in 28 years. The reward for their success may be bankruptcy. {NXTW NSN KZIZ5C0D9L35 }
-- Palm oil on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped to the lowest level in more than three months on concern that the global economic recovery may be derailed by European austerity measures. {NXTW NSN L2K89S0YHQ0X }
-- Crude oil fell below $70 a barrel for the first time in three months as the euro dropped against the dollar on concern Europe's sovereign-debt crisis may derail the global economic recovery and reduce fuel consumption. {NXTW NSN L2KFRU07SXKX }
