Morning Market Review by Bryce Knorr

Morning Price Trends
Corn:  Down 4 to 6
Soybeans: Down 10 to 12
Wheat: Down 6 to 9

Futures are trading lower across the board this morning, part of a wave of selling affecting most asset classes as investors take risk off the table.

Corn is lower, with lack of export news weighing on prices.

Export Inspections totaled just 9.6 million bushels in the latest week, and the total for the marketing year is down 35% of last year at the time. USDA forecasts only a 23% drop for 2012 crop, suggesting foreign demand could be even slower than anticipated.

Farmers continue to cut corn at a record pace, with 87% of the crop harvested, compared to just 49% on average, according to Monday’s Crop Progress report. Progress remains slow in the eastern Midwest; Ohio and Michigan are only half done.

Storms working across the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Valley should keep combines parked in many areas, though the Ohio River Valley should see less precipitation. With less corn moving across the scales volume is extremely weak, dropping 45% Monday to just 118,241, according to the preliminary report from the CBOT. Open interest fell 607 on a little fund selling.

Overseas prices were mixed today. Futures on the Dalian exchange in China rose fractionally, but corn in Paris is flat to fractionally lower.

Selling the grain market is part of a global downdraft today, fueled by selling in Europe on renewed concerns about the debt crisis there. The credit ratings of five regional governments in Spain were downgraded, and the federal government there continues to drag its heels on requesting an unpopular bailout.

http://www.farmfutures.com/story.aspx/morning/call/by/bryce/knorr/22/30780