Market News

Soybeans see late bounce

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying, along with a late surge in crude oil. Unknown destinations bought 125,000 tons of new crop U.S. beans Monday. Contracts were mixed, mostly lower, for much of the session, watching the weather. According to the USDA, 93% of U.S. beans are at the pod setting stage, compared to the five year average of 95%, and 9% are dropping leaves, compared to 7% on average. 63% of U.S. soybeans are in good to excellent condition, steady with last week and with 1% moving from good up to excellent. Soybean meal was mixed in consolidation trade and bean oil was up on that crude oil rally.

Corn was narrowly mixed. Corn was watching the weather, expecting generally non-threatening conditions this week. The trade is keeping an eye on the potential for yield reductions in parts of the Eastern Cornbelt. The USDA reports 92% of corn is at the dough making stage, compared to 90% on average, and 60% has dented, matching the normal pace. 9% of the crop has reached maturity, compared to 15% on average. 68% of corn is in good to excellent shape, down 1% on the week. Monday was the first notice day for September grain and oilseed contracts and also marked the end of the 2014/15 marketing year for corn and soybeans. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was mixed. The fundamentals remain bearish with a large available world supply and slow export demand for U.S. wheat, but there is some commercial support. Also, the dollar was weak Monday. The spring wheat harvest is at 88%, way ahead of the 62% average, with Minnesota and South Dakota at 95% and Washington officially wrapped up for the year. Egypt bought 55,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine. Statistics Canada is set to issue new grain stocks estimates Thursday. According to Allendale, the average estimate for all wheat is 6.5 million tons, down nearly 40% from the twenty year high this time last year.