Market News

Solid demand props up corn, soybeans, wheat

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying. Demand remains strong with China buying another 165,000 tons of 2016/17 U.S. beans Friday morning. The U.S. harvest is very close to wrapping up with probable record production this year. Informa Economics expects record U.S. soybean acreage in 2017, building on 2016. Soybean meal was lower and bean oil was lower on the adjustment of product spreads. Soybeans are also watching planting and development in South America.

Corn was higher on commercial and technical buying. Domestic and export demand continue to be big supportive factors for corn, cancelling out at least a little of the impact of expected record production. Corn’s also watching harvest activity with the first real round of winter-like weather in parts of the northern Midwest. The USDA’s next set of supply, demand, and production numbers are out December 9th. Development conditions in South America generally look good. According to wire reports, Informa expects 2017 U.S. corn acreage to be below 2016. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was higher on commercial and technical buying. The fundamentals are bearish, but there’s continued buying interest near the recent lows. The large available supply should continue to limit the upside. The dollar has gained a lot of ground since the election of Donald Trump as the next president, but it actually hasn’t had much of an impact on commodities yet and there’s a high amount of uncertainty about several trade agreements. Informa Economics, via wire reports, sees a decline in U.S. wheat planting, with 2017 potentially the lowest acreage total in nearly 100 years.