Market News
Soybeans, corn, wheat end week on a down note
Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling, adding to what would have already been a lower weekly finish. Soybeans continue to monitor U.S. harvest activity and yield results, along with the planting conditions in Argentina and Brazil. China bought 116,000 tons of new crop U.S. soybeans ahead of the open, despite being on holiday for Golden Week. That was the third announced U.S. soybean sale of the week to either China or unknown destinations. Beijing officially resumes business as usual in the coming week. Soybean meal and oil were down on spillover from beans and the fundamental implications of a very large, if not record, U.S. crop.
Corn was lower on fund and technical selling but did see a week-to-week gain in the December contract. U.S. harvest conditions look mostly clear and yields have generally been strong, while there was rain in the forecast for dry parts of Argentina and Brazil. Still, that rain isn’t expected to go widespread until the coming week and consistent precipitation will be needed in South America. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 13.7% of Argentina’s corn crop is planted, compared to 10.5% a week ago. Unknown destinations picked up 198,000 tons of new crop U.S. corn Friday morning. The temporary suspension of the U.S. port strike is a positive for commodity exports and imports. Egypt’s government says it reduce wheat imports in favor of corn and sorghum for Cairo’s subsidized bread program.
The wheat complex was lower on profit taking and technical selling, still ending the week higher in the most active months. There was rain in the medium-term forecasts for dry parts of Russia and Ukraine, which would help to alleviate some of the weather concerns in that part of the world. Of course, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine continues to be a wild card for the region. Stateside, dry weather is an ongoing issue in some hard red winter growing areas, while portions of the soft red winter region remain excessively wet post-Helene. There are also questions about crop quality in Argentina and Australia has likely lost at least some of their crop after a recent freeze. France’s AgriMer says 1% of the winter wheat crop has been planted, a little bit behind average.
Add Comment