CHICAGO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures rose for the week ending April 10 as the major question for commodity valuations became how quickly world economies would be able to return to normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
CBOT corn futures ended slightly higher in a trading week shortened by the closing of markets in observance of Good Friday. Bearish sentiment hangs over the crop as U.S. ethanol demand remains constrained by Americans adhering to "stay-at-home" orders and keeping off roads and highways.
The ethanol market faces a production cut of 20 to 30 million gallons per week, until normal life returns to America. Some estimates see that only happening when a vaccine is administered across the U.S. population, possibly late this year or in 2021. In addition, a record large U.S. corn crop looms this year, creating a supply bear market.
U.S. wheat futures ended higher for the week amid ongoing dryness in Europe's Black Sea region and uncertainty over the pace of the harvest in India, which is dealing with a lack of farm laborers due to COVID-19.
Soybeans posted modest gains this week after the United States Department of Agriculture in its April World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates predicted lower 2019/20 exports for the crop. U.S. soybean stocks were raised by 50 million bushels to an ample 480 million bushels.
Ahead of U.S. planting, AgResource looks for July soybeans to hold a wide range of 8.30 to 9.00 U.S. dollars.
