Market Commentary by TopAg.net: (Daily Grain Prices Below) Date: Feb. 3, 2012 Headline: Closing Grain Comments: Comments: After having rallied overnight on belief Russian was about to ban exports, corn & wheat were beat down on Friday's open when Russian authorities boosted the size of their 2011 crop & announced they would allow increased exports into summer. March wheat futures turned an overnight 5.5c gain into a 9.5c losses as trading resumed, dragging corn to an early 5c loss, too. Soybeans briefly traded lower in the opening minutes, but rebounded sharply at mid-morning when Informa Economics lowered its South American soybean forecast. Surprising strength in US job trends lifted US equities, giving crude oil & grains a boost into the close on hopes that commodity demand would improve along with job growth. March corn futures edged up 1.5c, March beans galloped 15.5c higher to a 4-week high & March CBOT wheat ended 2c lower on Friday. For the week, continuation charts on corn rose 2.75c, beans gained 13.5c & wheat rebounded 13.5c. In demand news, South Korea purchased three cargoes of corn totaling 6.87 mb for arrival by end-May. After having tendered for US or South American corn overnight, Taiwan feed processors bought about 1.968 mb of Argentine corn. Taiwan also purchased up to 2.205 mb of Brazilian soybeans for March shipment today. Russia provided the day's biggest export surprise. They increased their grain crop estimate to 93.6 mmt just ahead of this morning's CBOT open. And rather than limit 2011-12 grain exports to 23-25 mmt as they said they would last summer, Russia boosted its export forecast to 27 mmt. Russian grain shippers have lobbied heavily for the right to ship more grain. USDA will revise its world grain production & consumption forecasts next Thursday, but private South American crop estimates continue to slide. Widely followed Informa Economics lowered its Argentine corn production estimate by 1.5 mmt to 22.5 mmt & its soybean forecast by 4.5 mmt to 46.5 mmt this morning. The analyst also left its Brazilian corn forecast at 61.0 mmt & lowered its soybean estimate by 2.0 mmt to 70 mmt. On January 12th, USDA forecast output of Argentina corn at 26.0 mmt & beans at 50.5 mmt & Brazilian corn at 61.0 mmt & beans at 74.0 mmt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average blasted to its highest since June 2008, the S&P 500 jumped to a 7-month high & the NASDAQ index rallied to an 11-year peak today after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the US economy added 243,000 jobs in January--the fastest growth since April. The unemployment rate fell by 0.2% to 8.3%--the lowest since February 2009. Economists had forecast a 125,000 gain in payrolls & an 8.5% jobless rate. November-December employment was also revised upward by a total of 60,000. The number of unemployed people fell to 12.8 million, a three-year low. Private employers added 257,000 jobs in January, offsetting the loss of 14,000 jobs in federal, state & local government agencies. Average hourly earnings rose $.04 (+ 0.2%) to $23.29--up 1.9% year-on-year, but slightly below the 2.0% inflation rate. Basis levels were mixed this afternoon with corn basis up 1.5c, soybean basis 1/2c lower & wheat basis unchanged. Forecasts for more short-term moisture in the Mississippi River basin helped slice barge freight costs to the Gulf nearly 10c per bushel lower this week, supporting regional basis levels. For the week, cash corn prices rose 5c, soybeans gained 19c & wheat rallied 15c. Would you like CBOT futures prices reported to your phone? Top Ag can send you nearby & harvest futures prices for corn, soybeans & wheat at 9:45 am, 11:15 am & 1:45 pm each day. We provide the service for free, but you may have to pay for text messages--depending upon your phone plan. Call Scott or Seth at Okawville at 243-5293 or Mike at Trenton at 224-7332 & we'll get you set up! "Closing Comments" are written by David Marshall, Toay Commodities Futures Group LLC, Nashville, IL. To learn more about his farm marketing advisory or commodity brokerage services, contact him at dmarshall@tcfg-llc.com or call (618) 327-4370 (voice/fax) or (618) 314-0918 (cell). This commentary is not intended for specific trading strategies. We strive to insure this information is reliable, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Commodity trading involves risks. You should fully understand those risks before trading. Your Daily Grain Prices for : 2/3/2012 Commodity/Location Cash Price New Crop Jan. 2013 Wheat: Addieville $ 6.55 $ 6.69 $ X.xx Mascoutah same as above same as above same as above Okawville same as above same as above same as above Pierron same as above same as above same as above St. Libory same as above same as above same as above Trenton Trenton same as above same as above Corn: Addieville $ 6.45 $ 5.47 $ 5.58 Okawville same as above same as above same as above Pierron same as above same as above same as above St. Libory same as above same as above same as above Trenton same as above same as above same as above Soybeans: Addieville $ 12.34 $ 12.05 $ 12.20 Okawville same as above same as above same as above Pierron same as above same as above same as above St. Libory same as above same as above same as above Trenton same as above same as above same as above PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. PLEASE CONTACT SCOTT, MIKE or SETH FOR PRICE QUOTES FOR DIRECT DELIVERY TO RIVER TERMINALS or PICKED UP AT YOUR BIN or FIELD. CALL US WITH YOUR PRICING OFFERS!!!! 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