Market News

Brazil uncertainties shake up soybeans, corn

Soybeans were sharply lower on commercial and technical selling. Brazil’s currency and stock market dropped after their President was implicated in a cover-up involving the meat company JBS. According to wire reports, Brazil’s President says he will not resign. That drop in currency may help Brazil on the export market, but no matter what, this at least had a big short term effect. Soybean meal and oil followed beans lower. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 74.7% of Argentina’s crop is harvested.

Corn was lower on commercial and technical selling. Corn’s also watching export implications of the currency drop in Brazil. The market was already adjusting to probable record South American production prior to the drop in the Real. Forecasts have more planting delaying rain over the next few days in some key growing areas, which may lead some to switch corn acres to beans. Ethanol futures were higher. According to the USDA’s attaché, Turkey’s Grain Board has approval to import 500,000 tons of corn with no import tariff through the end of 2017. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reports 33.1% of Argentina’s corn crop is harvested.

The wheat complex was narrowly mixed. The dollar hit six month lows recently, which could help export competition, but there’s a lot of wheat available. Egypt reportedly bought 295,000 tons of wheat this week, some of that U.S. wheat, but the weekly numbers were neutral to bearish, with less than two weeks left in the 2016/17 marketing year. Japan purchased 79,572 tons of U.S. food wheat, along with 35,919 tons from Canada. Tunisia is tendering for 92,000 tons of optional origin milling wheat. Iraq is expected to increase wheat production to 3.65 million tons to meet domestic needs. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 2.8% of Argentina’s wheat crop is planted.