Market News

Soybeans, corn boosted by fund, commercial buying

Soybeans were higher on fund and commercial buying. The trade’s getting ready for USDA’s supply and demand numbers Wednesday. U.S. ending stocks should be up on the month and down on the year, while on the international side, global ending stocks may a little tighter and USDA also could lower crop guesses for South America. Soybean meal and oil were higher on spillover from beans and the fundamental implications of a smaller South American crop. Brazil’s CONAB lowered its production estimate slightly, down to 81.94 million tons. China’s National Grain and Oils Information Center, via Dow Jones Newswires, has lowered its 2012/13 soybean import estimate to 59 million tons, compared to the 2011/12 total of 59.24 million tons, and if realized, that would be the first year to year decline in soybean imports by China in nine years.

Corn was higher on commercial and fund buying. Planting is off to a slow start in many areas with rain in the Midwest and heavy snow in South Dakota and Nebraska. Ahead of the USDA numbers, U.S. ending stocks should be above last month but below last year. USDA will also be updating world ending stocks and South American production numbers with CONAB projecting Brazil’s total corn crop at 77.45 million tons. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was mixed. Chicago was down on the comparatively good shape of the soft red winter crop with the overall winter crop rating up on the week. Also, China did buy U.S. soft red winter, 700,000 tons according to Dow Jones Newswires, but it wasn’t as much as had been expected and it was over the course of several weeks, not all at once. Kansas City was up, focused on snow and a possible freeze for the already struggling hard red winter crop. European wheat was lower on that slight week to week improvement in the U.S. winter wheat condition rating. South Korea’s Major Feedmill Group bought 55,000 tons of optional origin wheat and Japan is tendering for 120,108 tons of milling wheat (32,877 tons U.S. hard red winter, 24,551 tons Canadian western red spring, 22,373 tons U.S. dark northern spring, 20,462 tons Australian standard white, and 19,845 tons U.S. western white). According to Russia’s Ag Ministry, grain exports for the current marketing year are 14.147 million tons, 37% than the same period last year.