Market News

Soybeans and corn pressured by good growing weather

Soybeans closed lower Tuesday, following comments Monday that led to confusion about the status of the trade deal with China. White House trade advisor Peter Navarro was quoted Monday saying the trade deal with China was over. Navarro said his comments were taken out of context and President Trump tweeted that the China trade deal remains “fully intact.” The USDA reported a 132,000 metric ton sale of U.S. soybeans to China. Weather is favorable for soybean growth and the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s 70 percent good-to-excellent soybean crop rating, although down from the week prior, is still high for this point in the season. DTN puts the fundamental price outlook for new-crop soybeans at neutral with a lot of uncertainty about the future of U.S. soybean demand.

Corn was lower Tuesday on the bearish weather forecast of good growing weather. DTN’s outlook is for rain from Iowa and Minnesota to Michigan. Temperatures should be moderate. The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service says as of Sunday, 72% of the corn crop is good-to-excellent, which is up one percentage point from the prior week. Favorable weather is putting pressure on the market. On the demand side, an increase in driving is a good sign for ethanol production.

Wheat was higher in Chicago and Kansas City, lower on spring wheat in Minneapolis. Winter wheat harvest continues with a few rain interruptions. The National Agricultural Statistics Service says that as of Sunday, winter wheat harvest is 29 percent finished. None of Nebraska’s wheat is harvested and their good to excellent rating on wheat increased from 43 percent to 62 percent as of Sunday. The national good to excellent rating on the spring wheat crop was down from 81 percent the week prior to 75 percent as of Sunday.