Market News

Soybeans firm, with corn mixed, wheat down

Soybeans were higher on fund and technical buying. Soybeans continued to be influenced by the strength in soybean and global vegetable oils, in addition to the bullish crush margins. The USDA’s monthly soybean crush numbers are out Friday. The USDA’s attaché in Argentina estimates 2024/25 soybean production at 52 million tons, compared to the official guess of 51 million and the office’s 2023/24 total of 49.5 million. Crush demand next marketing year is projected at 42 million tons, compared to 41 million this marketing year. The weekly export numbers were solid, with good shipments and sales up on the week at 83.5 million bushels. The big buyers were China and unknown destinations. Soybean meal was lower on the adjustment of product spreads and some technical weakness, with December closing below $300 per ton. That was despite the announced sale of 150,000 tons of 2024/25 U.S. bean meal to unknown destinations.

Corn was mixed, mostly firm, consolidating. Export sales were below a week ago at 92.2 million bushels, but still above average and demand, overall, remains positive. Last week’s primary purchasers were unknown destinations and Mexico. That solid demand should be reflected in the monthly corn for ethanol use report Friday. While rain is delaying the tail end of harvest in some areas, the soil moisture is welcome. Corn is also monitoring planting and development conditions in Argentina and Brazil. For now, conditions do tend to favor Brazil over Argentina, but there is a long way to go until harvest. The trade is watching Brazil’s soybean planting pace closely because of the potential impact on second crop corn acreage.

The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling, along with mostly higher trade in the U.S. dollar during the session. That rain in the Plains and Midwest should help winter wheat planting and emergence catch up to average. There’s more rain in the forecast for some areas this weekend and early next week, which should help partially alleviate drought issues. Still, weather ahead of dormancy is much less critical than weather after the crop emerges from dormancy. The trade also has an eye on planting weather in Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, along with harvest conditions in Argentina and Australia. The USDA’s next round of supply, demand, and production numbers is out November 8^th. Export sales were down on the week at 15.1 million bushels, with Russia maintaining market control. The big U.S. buyers were Mexico and the Philippines.