Market News

Dollar pressures grains, oilseeds

 

Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling, along with the higher dollar. Farmer selling increased after the recent rally, which added more than a dollar to prices in just a couple of weeks. There are weather issues, but commodities and the broader market are concerned about the economic health of Greece. As of Tuesday afternoon, negotiations between Greece and Europe were ongoing. Soybean meal and oil were lower, following soybeans. Bean oil had additional pressure from the lower crude oil.

Corn was lower on fund and technical selling, in addition to the higher dollar. The U.S. crop condition rating improved slightly over the past week, up 1% to 69% good to excellent. There’s a lot of uncertainty about yield, but it’s relatively uncommon for USDA to adjust yield in the July supply and demand report. According to Allendale, it’s happened just eight times since 1993. A July yield adjustment for soybeans is even less common. Ethanol futures were lower.

The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling, along with the strength in the dollar. The global supply is large and the trade’s shrugging off weather issues. The winter harvest is slower than normal and there are quality concerns around the region. Also, large portions of the northwestern U.S. Plains and western Canadian Prairies are much warmer and drier than normal, and there are concerns about dry weather and heat in Europe. Still, since wheat is such a global crop, many are taking a wait and see attitude towards damage. The USDA’s next set of supply and demand numbers is out Friday at Noon Eastern/11 AM Central. Japan is tendering for 156,000 tons of food wheat from the U.S., Australia, and Canada.