Market News

Soybeans, corn up on rain coverage questions

Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying. Forecasts for this week do have rain, but it’s expected to be scattered, possibly missing some key growing areas. The USDA says 90% of U.S. beans are blooming and 65% are at the pod setting stage, both a little ahead of their respective five year averages. 60% of the crop is rated good to excellent, up 1% on the week. Demand is solid and unknown destinations bought 206,000 tons of old crop U.S. soybeans. The current marketing year runs through the end of August. Also, grains and oilseeds were technically oversold after last week’s losses. Soybean meal was higher and bean oil was lower on the adjustment of product spreads. According to wire reports, two soybean end users in China sold more than a half million tons of previously purchased beans recently, possibly because of narrowing margins and unloading delays at a major port.

Corn was higher on commercial and technical buying. Corn is also watching the weather and the potential for generally moderate temperatures and scattered rainfall. As of Sunday, 93% of U.S. corn is silking, 42% is at the dough making stage, and 7% has dented, all a little slower than normal. 60% of the U.S. crop is in good to excellent shape, down 1% from the previous week. USDA’s new supply and demand report, prevent plant figures, and first field based production numbers of the year are out Thursday, along with the weekly export numbers. Mexico purchased 180,800 tons of U.S. corn for delivery next marketing year, which starts September 1st. According to AgRural, 74% of Brazil’s second corn crop is harvested, compared to the five year average of 67%. Ethanol futures were higher.

The wheat complex was higher on commercial and technical buying, along with the lower dollar. Rain will probably miss the driest parts of the northern Plains, but should help recharge soil moisture in southern parts of the region. The winter harvest is about to wrap up, while the spring harvest is getting underway. Even with the crop losses in the U.S., Canada, and possibly Australia, the overall supply outlook remains bearish. For winter wheat, 94% of the U.S. is harvested, compared to 92% on average. For spring wheat, 24% is harvested, compared to 21% on average, and 32% of the crop is rated good to excellent, up 1%. Iraq bought 50,000 tons of milling wheat from Australia.