GRAIN HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories Of The Day
February 10 2016 - 5:33PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES:
U.S. Corn, Soybeans Lower on Adequate Supplies -- Update
CHICAGO--U.S. corn and soybeans futures eased Wednesday as
plentiful domestic supplies and friendly global weather pressured
prices for the crops. Wheat rose. Corn prices settled at a fresh
more-than-three-week low, buffeted by new evidence of ample U.S.
stockpiles and concerns over demand for the grain. In a monthly
report on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture boosted its
outlook for corn inventories at the end of the 2015-16 season in
August on account of weaker-than-expected export sales of the
grain. Still, losses in the market were limited, analysts said,
because investors likely are unwilling to establish a large short
position--or bet on lower prices--ahead of the U.S. growing
season.
Ethanol Prices Erode as Supplies Swell -- Market Talk
U.S. ethanol prices sink as government data shows domestic
stockpiles of the biofuel jumped nearly 3% last week. Ethanol
inventories in the week ended Feb. 5 grew to 23M gallons, a record
according to analysts, as sliding oil prices threaten to discourage
refiners from blending the corn-based fuel additive into the
nation's gasoline supply. Low corn prices, however, have convinced
producers to keep churning out supplies, with plants last week
producing 969K barrels of ethanol per day, up 1% from 959K the
previous week. March ethanol futures recently down 1.8% at
$1.377/gallon.
STORIES OF INTEREST:
Corn-Crop Pressures Weigh on Andersons -- Market Talk
Bad weather and frustrated farmers help swing Ohio-based grain
company Andersons (ANDE) to a $47M loss for the quarter ended Dec
31. ANDE says excessive rain over the spring hit regional farmers'
corn yields, leaving ANDE less grain to trade, while farmers'
distaste for declining corn prices prompted more of them to store
their crops rather than selling it on to grain companies like ANDE.
The firm's ethanol unit struggled as well, though its railroad
division scored record results on busy tracks. Adjusting for a
pension settlement and reduction of a stake in another grain firm,
ANDE says it earned $5M for the quarter. ANDE settled 3.8% lower
Wednesday, before the results were posted after the market close,
and hasn't changed in after-hours trading.
For Monsanto, Three Roads Diverge in M&A Wood -- Market Talk
Citi analysts see three paths for Monsanto (MON) as the biotech
seed giant mulls whether to move on from long-sought merger with
Syngenta (SYT), the Swiss pesticide powerhouse that last week
agreed to a $43B takeover by China National Chemical Corp. MON
could go it alone and focus on fixing up what Citi analysts call
"the best house in a bad neighborhood" as ag-sector woes go on--but
there's always M&A. Citi says MON could also look at buying
pesticide assets from BASF or Bayer, though neither appears for
sale, or MON could bide its time and, if the Syngenta-ChemChina
offer is blocked for whatever reason, take yet another run at
Syngenta. Besides last year's blighted attempt, MON and Syngenta
talked combinations in 2011 and 2012.
THE MARKETS:
U.S. Cattle Futures Buoyed by Short-Covering
CHICAGO--U.S. cattle futures got a boost Wednesday from
short-covering after prices fell to the lowest levels in nearly
three weeks. February live-cattle futures rose 1.075 cents, or
0.8%, to $1.32475 a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Cattle futures for April picked up 0.65 cent to $1.3180 a pound.
Feeder-cattle futures for March rose 2.225 cents to $1.51225 a
pound. Signs of sluggish buying interest for livestock and beef
halted a multiweek rally on Monday and Tuesday, as investors bet
that retailers will balk at slightly higher prices for meat.
Write to Jesse Newman at jesse.newman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 10, 2016 18:18 ET (23:18 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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