Market News

Soybeans, wheat give back gains

 

Soybeans were lower on technical selling and profit taking. Tuesday’s gains may have been a little overdone, but there are a couple of big supportive influences for soybeans. Planting remains slower than normal in some key growing areas and demand continues to be strong. The USDA is resurveying some states and if there are changes, they’ll be in the August crop production report. Soybean meal was mixed in consolidation trade and bean oil was lower on profit taking.

Corn was narrowly mixed, mostly firm. Corn’s also watching the weather with more rain around some already very wet portions of the Midwest. That could lead to another lower USDA crop condition rating next week. Commodity markets close at Noon Central Thursday and will be closed Friday. Ethanol futures were mixed. China says it will reduce corn acreage next year to lower state stocks.

The wheat complex was lower on technical selling and profit taking, along with the mostly higher trade in the dollar. The losses were despite hard red winter quality problems, the soft red winter harvest delays, and dry weather in U.S. and Canadian spring wheat growing areas. Also, there are more weather concerns in Australia and Europe. The European Union sees 2015 wheat production at 140 million tons, down 1.5 million from the previous projection.