Market News

Grains, oilseeds lower ahead of Memorial Day

Soybeans were lower on fund and speculative selling, with November closing at a new contract low. Soybean planting has been delayed in some areas by rain, with the next set of estimates out on Tuesday. Weekly export inspections are also delayed until Tuesday. Demand continues to be strong, but the supply is only getting larger. Soybean meal was mostly lower and bean oil was down. Thailand picked up 109,400 tons of U.S. soybean cake and meal for 2015/16 delivery.

Corn was lower on fund and speculative selling. Corn’s also waiting to see just how much got planted during what was a very wet week in parts of the region. Still, at 85% complete as of last week, corn planting has moved well in most areas and short term weather forecasts appear to be conducive for development. Trade volume was light ahead of the three day weekend. Ethanol futures were lower.

The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling, in addition to the mostly higher dollar. Wheat does have some commercial interest, but the overall fundamentals remain bearish. Export demand for U.S. wheat is slow and the world supply is ample. There are concerns about fungus and flooding though around the southern Plains. The market’s also watching dry conditions around parts of Russian wheat growing areas. Taiwan bought a total of 101,950 tons of U.S. wheat (59,600 tons hard red spring, 31,500 tons hard red winter, and 10,850 tons soft white) with delivery set for the 2015/16 marketing year. Algeria purchased 450,000 tons of milling wheat from France.