Agricultural commodities soar with USDA report

Agricultural commodities soar with USDA report

 CHICAGO, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures¹ all sharply rose Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Quarterly Grain Stocks report paved the way for bullish levels for corn and wheat, and trader enthusiasm also extended to the soybean market.

The most active corn contract for December delivery jumped 40 cents, or 5.58 percent, to close at 7.5625 dollars per bushel. December wheat soared 47 cents, or 5.49 percent, to settle at 9. 025 dollars per bushel. November soybeans sharply rose 30.25 cents, or 1.93 percent, to close at 16.01 dollars per bushel.

After a week largely marked by losses, the grains all rallied Friday and closed at or near session highs. Corn settled at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's daily limit, and wheat gained almost 5.5 percent. Soybeans also sharply rose on the session, though not as much as the other crops.

Driving trading was the morning release from the USDA concerning U.S. quarterly stocks.

According to the USDA, corn stocks in all positions on September 1 totaled 988 million bushels, down from the 1.11 billion bushels expected. Wheat stocks were 2.104 billion bushels, off slightly from the 2.278 billion bushels previously² estimated.

Traders seized on the lower stocks numbers and raced to buy the agricultural commodities that had largely been sold off earlier in the week. Market analysts³ see the lower wheat stocks figure as an indication that farmers have increasingly been using wheat as feed, and the lower corn stocks figure brushed off previous trader concerns of a lagging corn demand.

The USDA soybean stocks report was not considered as positive as the data for corn and wheat, as soybean stocks of 169 million bushels exceeded trader expectations of 131 million bushels. However, a Chinese purchase of 180,000 tones of U.S. 2012-2013 soybeans helped the market regain⁴ some early losses, and the positive atmosphere in corn and wheat trading helped propel soybeans to a high close.

The USDA report was supportive enough that the grains were able to override⁵ a largely negative outside market atmosphere. The session saw a sharply higher dollar, as well as losses in gold and U.S. equities⁶.

1 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

5 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

6 equities   

普通股，股票

参考例句：

• These are invested mainly in the OECD bonds and equities. 这些资产主要投资于经济合作及发展组织的债券与股票市场。
• They are also advantage of the global rebound in equities. 它们还在利用全球股市反弹的机会。