What follows are opening calls for U.S. grain and oilseed markets.
-- Wheat futures may open 2 cents to 5 cents a bushel higher on the Chicago Board of Trade, the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange on speculation that export demand will rebound following the biggest price drop yesterday in a month, said Jim Gerlach, the president of A/C Trading Inc. in Fowler, Indiana.
-- Corn futures are called to open 1 cent to 2 cents a bushel higher in Chicago on signs that China will increase imports to build inventories, Gerlach said.
-- Soybean futures may open 3 cents to 5 cents a bushel higher on the CBOT on speculation that adverse weather will reduce production in South America, Gerlach said. Soybean-meal futures may open $1 to $2 higher per 2,000 pounds, and soybean oil is expected to open steady to down 0.1 cent a pound.
-- U.S. exporters sold 110,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for delivery in the year that starts Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
-- The cost of living in the U.S. rose less than forecast in November, indicating higher prices for commodities such as fuel aren t filtering through into other goods and services.
-- Most U.S. stocks fell, snapping a six-day rally for the Standard & Poor s 500 Index, as concern that Europe s government debt crisis will worsen overshadowed higher-than-estimated data on industrial production and manufacturing.
-- Spain s credit rating may be cut from Aa1, Moody s Investors Service said, as the government prepares its final bond sale of the year amid concern it may follow Greece and Ireland in seeking a bailout.
-- China is more likely to import corn in the year that started Oct. 1 to build reserves, Cngrain.com said.
-- China s auction of 83,400 tons of rapeseed oil attracted a large number of buyers, according to Cnyouzhi.com.
-- China s northeast Heilongjiang province will offer 191,000 tons of soybeans in auctions Dec. 17, Cnyouzhi.com said.
-- Control Union International Commodity Services SA said its auditors are waiting for access to inspect grain-storage facilities of Russian trading company Rosinteragroservis, or Rias.
-- As much as 14 percent of Australia s canola crop may be unsuitable for crushing after heavy rains hurt harvest quality, according to an industry group.
-- Two South Korean groups purchased 170,000 tons of soybean meal for feed production in a joint tender, according to two industry executives.
-- Nonghyup Feed Inc., South Korea s biggest buyer of feed grains, issued a tender to purchase as much as 55,000 tons of soybean meal for arrival in May.
-- Japan will hold a tender on Dec. 22 for as much as 30,000 tons of feed wheat and 200,000 tons of feed barley.
-- Russia should scrap a 5 percent tax on grain imports after this year s drought wiped out 38 percent of the national crop, the country s Grain Union said.
-- Russia may harvest at least 40 million tons of winter grains next year should weather remain favorable, the Grain Union said.
-- Ukraine s winter grain plantings are down 5.5 percent this season at 8.088 million hectares, according to the state statistics office.
-- Ukraine s grain stockpiles fell 14 percent to 18 million metric tons as of Dec. 1.
-- Palm-oil futures in Kuala Lumpur dropped for the second straight day on speculation that demand growth in China and India may slow.
-- Malaysia s palm-oil exports fell almost 30 percent in the first half of December, said Societe Generale de Surveillance, an independent cargo surveyor.
-- Sugar-cane growers in Brazil may face a shortage of seedlings needed to replace aging crops, threatening yields in future harvests, an industry group said.
-- Cargill Inc. agreed to buy the Australian grain-trading business of AWB from Agrium Inc.
-- U.S. feedlots probably increased purchases of young cattle last month from a year earlier on signs of increasing demand and as feed costs fell, analysts said.
