Wheat falls on dollar, fund selling

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Wheat falls on dollar, fund selling

Soybeans were modestly lower on fund and technical selling. Harvest is a little bit slower than normal, but some areas should be able to wrap up before Thanksgiving. The trade is also watching planting and development conditions in South America, waiting to see the impact of the expected La Nina pattern. Unknown destinations bought 161,000 tons of 2021/22 U.S. beans Tuesday morning, the third business day in a row with a sale. That brings the running total since last Friday to 681,930 tons. All or part of those purchases could turn out to be China when it’s time for delivery. Soybean meal was lower and bean oil was higher, unwinding product spreads. Malaysian palm oil was higher ahead of the U.S. session on strong exports during the first half of the month.

Corn was modestly lower on fund and technical selling. Corn is also watching late U.S. harvest activity, in addition to planting and development conditions in South America. Those conditions in Argentina and Brazil generally look favorable, but parts of southern Brazil could use rain. Mexico bought U.S. corn for the second consecutive day, picking up 270,000 tons Tuesday, for a running total of 468,200 tons, with all but 50,000 tons for 2021/22 delivery. A major South Korea feed mill bought 68,000 tons of optional origin corn, likely from South America or South Africa, while passing on offers for a 65,000-ton feed wheat tender. SovEcon raised its outlook for Ukraine’s corn crop to a record 39.9 million tons. Ethanol futures were unchanged. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly ethanol production and supply numbers are out Wednesday. Vietnam will lower its most-favored nation import tariff for corn from 5% to 2% on December 30th.

The wheat complex was lower on fund and technical selling, along with a higher move in the U.S. dollar. The USDA’s winter wheat condition rating was up 1% on the week but is still historically low for this time of year. However, the key ratings for winter wheat will be when the crop emerges from dormancy. The trade is also monitoring conditions in Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, along with pre-harvest weather in Argentina and Australia. December Minneapolis did trade as low as $9.99 prior to bouncing off the session lows. A portion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad that serves as the main route to the Port of Vancouver has been shut down due to damage from heavy rains, with no reported timeline for reopening. The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest port. Vietnam will eliminate its most-favored nation import tariff for wheat on December 30th.

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