Market News

Corn continues to watch planting conditions

Soybeans were mixed on old crop/new crop spread trade. There are more reports of U.S. soybean imports and a lot of uncertainty about Chinese demand. Past that – the trade’s watching South America’s harvest. Soybean meal matched beans and bean oil was weak on profit taking and the lower crude oil. ABIOVE lowered its 2014 Brazilian soybean export estimate to 43 million tons due to those concerns about Chinese demand. USDA’s weekly export sales report is out Thursday at 8:30 AM Eastern/7:30 AM Central. Old crop soybeans are pegged at -250,000 to 100,000 tons, with new crop at 300,000 to 625,000, old crop meal is seen at 25,000 to 175,000 tons, with new crop at 25,000 to 125,000 tons, and old crop oil is placed at 0 to 50,000 tons, with new crop at 0 to 10,000.

Corn is higher on fund and commercial buying. Demand’s the big factor for corn, from both the export side and the domestic side of the market. Additionally, the trade’s concerned about planting delays in some key growing areas. Ethanol was mixed, with May through September contracts up modestly. China may not be buying U.S. corn, but Beijing did pick up 120,000 tons of old crop U.S. sorghum. The EIA reports ethanol production for the week ending April 18 was an average of 910,000 barrels per day. Weekly old crop U.S. corn sales are estimated at 300,000 to 800,000 tons, with new crop at 100,000 to 250,000 tons.

The wheat complex was higher on fund and technical buying, in addition to spillover from corn. The complex is watching chances for rain in the Southern Plains, in addition to a potential cold snap. The trade’s also assessing freeze damage from earlier this year. Japan bought 29,700 tons of U.S. hard red winter and 21,800 tons of U.S. dark northern spring, along with 25,100 tons of Canadian western red spring and 32,200 tons of Australian standard white. Iran bought 60,000 tons of wheat from Russia. Weekly old crop U.S. wheat sales are projected at 100,000 to 450,000 tons, with new crop at 225,000 to 450,000 tons.