The CME and Total Farm Marketing Offices will be closed Monday, May 25, in Observance of Memorial Day

CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Quiet session in the corn market to end the week as prices consolidated going into the 3-day holiday weekend. July corn gained 1 cent to 463 ¼, and December corn added 1 ½ cents to 486 ½. Corn prices traded higher on the week as July gained 7 ½ cents, with most of the gain from Monday’s trade.
• USDA announced two flash export sales of corn on Friday morning. Mexico bought 493,700 MT (19.5 mb) and Unknown Destinations bought 110,000 MT (2.1 mb) of corn. The sales were spilt sales with totals going into booth old crop and new crops sales totals.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange raised their forecast for the Argentina corn crop to 64 MMT, up 3MMT from their last projection, as the record Argentina crop gets larger.
• U.S. weather looks to remain mostly favorable. The 8–14 day outlook calls for warmer and wetter conditions across much of the Corn Belt. Parts of the western Corn Belt received needed rainfall Friday.
• Corn ended the week steady with export demand providing support but improving weather and expanding global crop supplies continue to cap bullish momentum.
• Strong export demand is supportive, but larger South American supplies and favorable weather continue to limit upside.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans traded quietly but slightly higher heading into the 3-day weekend with support from both soy products and higher crude oil. July soybeans gained 2-1/4 cents to $11.96-1/2 while November was up 1 cent to $11.87-3/4. July soybean meal gained $3.50 to $331.90 while July soybean oil gained 0.11 cents to 73.98 cents. Crude oil is up 0.10 cents to $96.45.
• USDA reported a flash sale of 252,000 MT of soybean meal to unknown destinations. Export demand remains mixed—old crop sales have held up reasonably well, while new crop commitments are running roughly 50% below last year’s pace. Brazilian soybeans continue to maintain a pricing advantage over U.S. supplies, while markets continue watching for potential Chinese purchases tied to the previously discussed 25 MMT commitment.
• Brazil’s soybean production is projected to reach 215 mmt within five years as acreage expansion and improving yields continue driving growth. Rising domestic biofuel demand is expected to support annual production growth of roughly 3% through 2031.
• For the week, July soybeans gained 19-1/2 cents while November gained 17 cents. July soybean meal lost $2.40 while July soybean oil gained 0.10 cents. Prices retreated from highs earlier in the week as it seemed that funds have begun to exit a portion of their long grain positions.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat futures closed lower again today, put under pressure by a lower close for Matif wheat, potential squaring up of positions ahead of the holiday weekend, and crude oil again fading well off of daily highs. In the July contract, Chicago lost 1-1/4 cents to 646-1/4, Kansas City dropped 5 cents to 682, and MIAX closed 3/4 cent lower at 689-1/2.
• A storm system brought some rain to parts of Nebraska and western Kansas. While it may be too little, too late for much of the HRW wheat crop, some areas could still benefit, which weighed on the KC futures today.  
• The Argentine government will reportedly reduce their wheat export tax from 7.5% to 5.5% beginning in June. This added additional pressure on wheat today. There is talk that soybean export taxes could also be cut down the road.  
• According to the Russian agriculture ministry, their port capacity currently stands at 85 mmt annually, however they expect this to increase to 100 mmt by the year 2030. Grain exports in particular are anticipated to reach 80 mmt by 2030.
• An estimate from the Russian Grain Union suggests that 25/26 Russian grain exports could reach 54-55 mmt. Of that total, wheat shipments are expected to account for 47.5 mmt. Additionally, wheat exports for the month of May are forecasted at 3.5 mmt, which exceeds the five-year average of 3.2 mmt.
• According to the USDA, as of May 19, an estimated 70% of U.S. winter wheat acres are experiencing drought conditions, a drop of 1% from the week prior. During the same timeframe, spring wheat area in drought increased 1% to 21%.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Spot powder continued lower today, declining by 2 cents to close at $2.0725/lb. Spot butter gained 1 cent, closing at $1.5350/lb.
• Class IV futures continued to decline, with June futures closing down 32 cents at $21.18.
• Spot cheese continued to decline, losing 1.75 cents to close at $1.4925/lb. Spot whey also closed lower, down 0.75 cents to finish at $0.6800/lb.
• Class III milk futures continued lower, with the July contract falling 21 cents to close at $16.65.

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Author

Amanda Brill