Wheat gives back some gains, corn, soybeans mixed

Market News

Wheat gives back some gains, corn, soybeans mixed

Soybeans were mixed, adjusting spreads. It was an up and down day with concerns about demand around these price levels against bullish fundamentals. Crush margins are strong, Ukraine is the world’s biggest exporter of sunflower oil, and both Ukraine and Russia are significant players in the global energy market. Estimates for Brazil’s crop are well below a year ago due to drought, which also limited production in Argentina, so a substantial U.S. crop will be needed to replenish global supplies, including for the leading global buyer, China. 1% of U.S. soybeans are planted, compared to the five-year average of 2%. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 14.4% of Argentina’s soybean crop is harvested. The USDA says unknown destinations bought 123,650 tons of old crop U.S. beans ahead of the open. China’s National Grain Trade Center says it will sell 500,000 tons of soybeans from state reserves Friday. Soybean meal was mixed on bear spreading, while bean oil was mixed on bull spreading.

Corn was mostly lower on spread trade and profit taking. Most forecasts have dry weather in central Brazil against beneficial rain in parts of southern Brazil, presenting a mixed impact for that nation’s critical second crop. The rain is too late for most of Argentina, with nearly all of the crop mature and 19.4% harvested, according to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. 4% of U.S. corn is planted, slower than the normal pace, with more near-term rain delays in some areas. Only a handful of states are ahead of average and that’s generally due to dry weather. Corn is also monitoring corn planting in Ukraine, a major exporter of the grain, with acreage expected to be substantially smaller than last year. Ethanol futures were unchanged. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly ethanol production and supply numbers are out Wednesday.

The wheat complex was lower on profit taking and technical selling, with Chicago and Kansas City leading the way down. Nothing really changed from Monday’s session, but contracts were seen as overbought. 30% of U.S. winter wheat is rated good to excellent, down 2% on the week, with only scattered rain in the forecast for parts of the southern U.S. Plains, and spring wheat planting is just behind average at 8%, with cold conditions in snow in portions of the northern U.S. Plains. The trade continues to monitor the impact from the war in Ukraine on exports. Russia is still exporting, including to the world’s biggest buyer Egypt, but shipments out of Ukraine have been halted by damage at port facilities. Kazakhstan has reportedly set a wheat export quota of one million tons, running through June 15th. China’s National Grain Trade Center says 531,469 tons of wheat were sold from state reserves last week, out of an offering of 551,145.

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