Market News

Soybean meal pulls soybeans, corn higher

 

 

Soybeans were modestly higher on commercial and technical buying, in addition to spillover from bean meal. Weekly export sales were larger than expected, but the actual physical movement from the U.S. to their eventual destinations remains slow. Near term forecasts for Argentina are mixed, drier in some areas than others. Conditions in Brazil, generally, continue to look non-threatening. Meal and oil were higher, with meal leading the way and gaining for the fifth session in a row, on commercial buying. Argentina’s a big competitor for soybean meal exports, so the U.S. could pick up part of any potential slack. The South American uncertainties helped March soybeans gain more than $.16 on the week, while November was up a little more than $.12.

Corn was modestly higher on commercial and technical buying, in addition to the higher move in meal. Weekly corn exports were more than 74 million bushels, but shipments are behind USDA projections for the current marketing year by a notable margin. Corn is also watching development conditions in South America with La Nina conditions expected to last through the end of summer in the southern hemisphere. Recent gains and less extreme weather conditions could lead to increase farmer selling. The most active contracts had a week to week gain of more than $.05. Ethanol futures were lower.

The wheat complex was modestly lower on profit taking and technical selling, along with the firm dollar. Parts of the Plains remain in drought or near drought conditions, but winterkill concerns are easing in some winter wheat growing areas and the fundamentals are bearish, especially on the global supply side of the ledger. Also, while there may still be some damage to this year’s wheat crop, the extent, if any, wouldn’t be known until the crop comes out of dormancy. More than halfway through the marketing year, weekly export numbers were bearish. The potential government shutdown was more of a factor for the broader market than commodities Friday. Chicago and Kansas City posted slightly week to week gains, while Minneapolis had a modest loss.