Hot markets – Sept. 30, 2008; Grain prices heat up, too
With all the attention on the stock market and the turmoil over the fate of a bailout plan, many people may not have noticed the skid in grain and soybean prices during the last week.
- December corn futures have dropped below $5 per bushel for the first time since January.
- Fall is a seasonally weak time anyway for corn and soybeans as harvest gets under way.
- The threat of frost cutting 2008 crops short, one factor holding prices up, has pretty much diminished.
- A U.S. Department of Agriculture report Tuesday morning showed soybean stocks were larger than traders expected.
- November soybean prices dropped below the April low to the lowest level since last December with the important $10 per bushel psychological level next in sight.
- A strong U.S. dollar and “outside markets” – crude oil and the whole commodity sector – are exerting lots of pressure on grain and soybean prices.
Have a great week!
TraderEd
