Market News

Soybeans finish week strong

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying. Some forecasts have a drier outlook for Argentina, and conditions mostly look good in Brazil, even if rain total’s haven’t matched projections, but there is a long way to go for South America’s crop. It’s roughly the equivalent of mid-May for the South American growing season. NOAA says a weak La Nina pattern is underway, with a 65% to 75% chance it lasts through winter. U.S. harvest activity could wrap up soon in some areas. Soybean meal was sharply higher on commercial demand and bean oil was narrowly mixed, mostly weak. Informa Economics pegs 2018 U.S. soybean acreage at 89.627 million acres, compared to their last guess of 90.347 million.

Corn was higher on commercial and technical buying. Corn’s also watching U.S. harvest conditions, with a generally drier pattern expected in the eastern Midwest. That could allow parts of the region to wrap up for the season. Demand is good, but there’s plenty of corn available. Ethanol futures were higher. Corn’s also watching planting activity and weather in South America. The USDA’s latest round of cattle on feed numbers is at least some indicator of increased demand for feed stuffs in the coming months. Informa projects 2018 U.S. corn planted area at 91.415 million acres, compared to the prior estimate of 90.460 million.

The wheat complex was higher on commercial and technical buying. The fundamentals are bearish, but there’s buying interest at these price levels. Parts of the southern Plains are dry, but that won’t be much of a factor until the hard red winter crop comes out of dormancy. Recent rain in the eastern Midwest is expected to be beneficial for the soft red winter crop. Strategie Grains lowered its 2017 European Union soft wheat production estimate slightly to 142.5 million tons. France’s AgriMer reduced its soft wheat exports to non-E.U. nations to 9.9 million tons, because of anticipated competition from the Black Sea region. Egypt bought 240,000 tons of milling wheat from Russia.