Market News

Soybeans mostly higher, while weather forecast sends wheat lower

Soybeans started the day with big gains only to fall off around midsession and end the day with modest gains in most contracts.  There was some slight weakness in the nearby month.  China appears to be picking up its soybean imports, with Brazil currently filling most of that order.  Brazil looks to be headed to a record-large soybean crop, but the same cannot be said for soy production in Argentina as production was pulled back even more by the exchange.  Soybeans were the only bright spot in the week’s Export Sales report.  Soybean meal finished the day higher for the third consecutive day. 

Corn finished the day modestly lower even with the announced sale to China.  The USDA reported a sale of more than 12.8 million bushels (or 327,000 metric tons) of corn to China.  Of that, 7.5 million are marked for the current marketing year and roughly 5.3 million bushels for the 2023/2024 marketing year.  Weather in the U.S. continues to promote fieldwork and planting across much of the Corn Belt.  CONAB updated its corn production guess Thursday morning and is still forecasting a large crop.  However, Argentina’s Exchange dropped its corn production estimate again.  Corn sales remain more than 30 percent below year-ago levels, but there is optimism that demand should pick up in the coming months. 

A weather forecast with some much-needed rain in it sent the wheat complex tumbling on Thursday.  Kansas City wheat led the downside losses.  And while there is rain in the forecast for some of the driest areas, high winds, warm temperatures, and the lack of precipitation so far have made a bad crop even worse.  French milling wheat also took a tumble as the new crop hit new lows.  Russia and Ukraine continue to dominate wheat exports, and in the latest Supply and Demand report the USDA raised wheat exports for both countries.