The start of the week was poised to be slow and choppy as the USDA crop acreage report was scheduled to be released Wednesday 8:30 CST. Spill over selling continued in both corn and wheat for two days. Corn led the way as it traded at lows of October 2009. Additionally, favorable weather conditions in the Midwest pressured prices. Soybeans stayed in a mixed and choppy direction on the eve of the report. After the report was released on Wednesday, traders and analysts concluded that estimates were above actual numbers, which showed a lack of acreage for corn and wheat. The CME Group halts trading in the grain complex from 7:15am till 9:30am CST to prevent volatile price action when major reports are released. Once markets opened, corn futures sky-rocketed to limit-up, along with wheat advances of nearly 35 points. Soybeans had a choppy open as they rallied, but gave away all of their gains and closed the session negative. The USDA report set the trend for the remainder of the week as corn and wheat both continued to rise in price, reflecting the shortage in crop acreage. Soybeans traded below the technical price of 900.00, but never settled there and continued to stay in a choppy direction for the rest of the week. Activity was quiet on Friday as many traders took off early to observe the 4th of July holiday. Markets were closed the following Monday for the national holiday. Corn ended the month and quarter in negative territory and also managed to settle the lowest it has in two years. Soybeans settled marginally below prior months prices and have been steady for the past year. Wheat had major declines in prices but managed to end the month on a positive note but still down for the past two years.

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