Market News

Soybeans able to post gains

Soybeans were higher on fund and commercial buying. Commercial demand is apparently back, at least somewhat, following the recent decline in price, but contracts did end the day closer to the session’s lows than the highs. There are concerns about dry weather in some key growing areas and the weekly export numbers were extremely bullish, especially on the new crop side, with sales at 90.1 million bushels. Soybean meal was higher and bean oil was steady to firm.

Corn was lower on fund and technical selling. Export sales were bullish, but it was another slow week for the shipments. Past that – according to Reuters, China is now requiring U.S. dried distillers grains be certified as free of the MIR 162 GMO trait. Ethanol futures were mixed, with nearby August up and the other active months down.

The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling. Export numbers were positive, with Japan the big buyer on the week, and the complex is oversold. However, the fundamentals, especially when taking into account the global fundamentals, remain bearish. Aside from the weather issues in the U.S. Plains, world conditions generally look pretty good at this time. DTN reports South Korea’s Korea Feed Association bought, in a snap tender, 27,400 tons of U.S. milling wheat and 32,000 tons of feed wheat, and another South Korea based buyer picked up 30,700 tons of U.S. wheat. In sell-buy-sell trade, Japan purchased 94,600 tons of milling wheat from the U.S., Australia, and Canada.