Market News

Wheat ends day modestly higher

Soybeans were mixed on old crop/new crop spread trade. There was some rain in dry parts of the central and upper Midwest and the new crop fundamentals are bearish. China did buy more new crop U.S. beans, 360,000 tons, and Mexico bought 134,700 tons of new crop U.S. bean meal. Soybean meal was mixed, mostly higher, on the positive demand outlook, and bean oil was lower on profit taking.

Corn was modestly higher on short covering and technical buying. Corn’s also watching that moderate but much needed rain in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Mexico bought U.S. corn, 269,084 tons, most of that, 245,716 tons, was new crop. Ethanol futures were higher. Allendale notes Chinese feed corn demand has declined as their hog numbers have dipped.

The wheat complex was higher on short covering and technical buying. There’s some harvest delaying rain around the Midwest, but it’s not expected to be a major event. The Wheat Quality Council’s hard red spring tour has a record projected yield in the Northern Plains. Even with a few domestic and global trouble spots for wheat, the fundamentals remain bearish. Some of the buying was linked to probable European trade restrictions on Russia, but it’s not known at this point how much of an impact that will have on grain exports.