Market News

Corn, soybean support limited by weather

 

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying. Weekly export numbers were neutral to a little supportive and unknown bought 140,000 tons of new crop U.S. beans. Crop weather forecasts for the Midwest are generally non-threatening. Soybean meal and oil were higher, following beans. Meal outgained oil by a significant margin due to commercial demand. Friday is the first notice day for August grain and oilseed contracts. Allendale reports Argentine soybean crush plants crushed 18.5 million tons of soybeans from January to June, nearly 1% ahead of the first half of 2014. Soybean oil and meal production were also above year ago levels.

Corn was higher on commercial and technical buying. Weekly export numbers for corn were neutral with sales at the high end of estimates and a slow week for shipments. Corn’s also watching the weather, with generally non-threatening conditions in the forecast. Contracts are oversold, but the market’s more focused on those non-threatening weather outlooks. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was mixed, with Chicago mostly weak and Kansas City and Minneapolis modestly lower. September Chicago was firm on commercial buying. Weekly wheat sales were larger than what analysts were expecting, but physical shipments were below what’s needed to meet USDA projections. The winter wheat harvest is getting close to wrapping up and the spring wheat crop is in good shape. The International Grains Council estimates 2015/16 global wheat production at 710 million tons, down 1 million from the prior projection, and increased world ending stocks by 5 million tons. South Korea bought 93,100 tons of Australian wheat and Tunisia picked up 84,000 tons of optional origin.