Soybeans closed lower on late profit taking and spillover from corn and wheat. Nearbys were up most of the session on expectations for good near term demand due to harvest and shipping delays in South America. However, the trade expects a record South American soybean crop, which pressured deferreds consistently and helped drag down nearbys late in the session, along with the higher dollar. Brazilian ag consultants Celeres reports 56% of Brazil’s crop had been harvested as of March 19. Soybean meal was mixed with nearbys up on product spread trade and deferreds down on profit taking after hitting new one month highs. Bean oil was modestly lower on the product spread activity and profit taking. Unknown destinations bought 120,000 tons of 2010/11 U.S. soybeans ahead of the open and China’s Ministry of Commerce raised its March import projection to 4.561 million tons, up 17% from its earlier estimate and above the March 2009 total of 3.86 million tons.
Corn closed near the low end of the recent trading range on fund and technical selling, along with the higher dollar. Corn’s fundamentals remain negative with a large supply and neutral to negative demand. Losses were limited by continued concerns over fieldwork and early planting delays. However, near term forecasts do show a warmer and drier pattern for most of the Midwest. Overall, the trade’s waiting for the March 31 prospective planting and quarterly stocks updates. Ethanol futures were lower. Taiwan bought 60,000 tons of 2009/10 U.S. corn at $234.59 per ton but that was considered routine. The USDA attaché in Brazil expects that nation’s corn production to total 50 million tons with exports at 8 million. That compares to the 2009/10 production estimate of 51 million tons with exports of 7.2 million tons.
The wheat complex was lower on profit taking, technical selling and the higher dollar. Fundamentals for wheat are extremely negative with a large world supply and poor demand for U.S. wheat. Losses were limited at least to some extent by short covering and traders trying to buy back at least some acreage ahead of the March 31 USDA numbers. European wheat was mixed with pressure from the bearish fundamentals and support from the lower Euro; May London was up .3% and May Paris was down .4%. Japan’s Ag Ministry, via Dow Jones Newswires, says it is unlikely to issue a wheat import tender this week.
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