Market News

Wheat shrugs of supply pressure

Soybeans were lower on commercial and technical selling. Brazil’s record harvest is moving forward and U.S. producers are expected to plant record acreage this year. A slowdown in corn planting could mean even more bean acres. Next week’s USDA crop progress report could have the first soybean planting percentage of the season. Soybean meal was mixed, adjusting old crop/new crop spreads, and bean oil was lower, following beans.

Corn was lower on commercial and technical selling. 6% of this year’s crop is planted, compared to 9% on average, but it is early and many forecasts for next week are drier. Near term forecasts do have more rain in already wet areas. Conditions in South America generally look good, especially for Brazil’s second crop. Ethanol futures were lower ahead of the weekly EIA production and stocks data. Ukraine’s Ag Ministry says corn planting is just getting underway. The USDA’s attaché in South Korea expects 2016/17 imports of corn from the U.S. to be 5 million tons, with 2017/18 U.S. imports at 4 million.

The wheat complex was higher on commercial and technical buying, with Minneapolis leading the way up. The winter wheat condition rating improved slightly over the past week and while spring wheat planting is slower than average, the number was close to many pre-report expectations. Medium term forecasts have more rain in the southwestern Plains. The fundamental outlook has not changed. South Korea bought 55,000 tons of feed wheat. According to Ukraine’s Ag Ministry, 92% of spring wheat is planted.