The CME and Total Farm Marketing Offices will be closed Friday, July 3, in Observance of Independence Day

CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures found some buying strength to start the month of July as short covering, and a firm wheat market helped corn futures close with moderate gains. September corn gained 6 cents to 422 ¾, while December corn added 6 ¼ cents to 442 ¼.
• Corn followed through on Tuesday’s firm close, with futures testing nearby resistance levels. Additional position squaring ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend could provide short-term support.
• Weekly ethanol production increased to 328 million gallons last week.  This was up 8 million gallons compared to last week, and 2.4% over last year. Ethanol stocks hit 24.690 million barrels, which set a new high for this week of the year.  A total of 110 mb of corn was used to make ethanol last week, which is just behind the pace to reach the USDA marketing year target.
• USDA will release the weekly export sales report on Thursday morning.  Last week corn sales reached 1.47 MMt (58.2 mb) split fairly evenly between old crop and new crop sales. The market will stay focused on new crop sales as the US builds its book of sales for the new marketing year.
• After the Fourth of July holiday, the market will be focused on July weather as the crop moves closer to the pollination period.  Current long-range forecast going into mid- July remains favorable for crop development.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day higher and were bull-spread with larger gains in the front months. August soybeans were up 9 cents to $11.33-1/4 while November was up 5-1/2 cents to $11.49-1/4. August soybean meal gained $1.40 to $305.30 and August soybean oil lost 0.24 cents to 66.69 cents. There were 31 deliveries against July soybeans and 661 deliveries against July bean oil.
• Tuesday’s USDA reports were viewed as neutral for soybeans, but funds may have entered the report heavily short, expecting a more bearish outcome. The recent rally appears tied to short covering and position adjustments, though favorable 30-day weather forecasts could pressure prices after the holiday.
• Tomorrow, the USDA will release the May soybean crush results, and early estimates see crush at 215.1 million bushels, which would be up 5.6% from a year ago at this time. Crude and once-refined soybean oil reserves for the end of May are seen at 2.217b lbs, which would be up from 1.876b.
• Brazilian soybean exports for June are expected to reach 14.05 million tons according to Anec. This would compare to 15.21 mmt estimated the previous week. Brazilian soymeal exports are seen reaching 2.4 million tons compared to 2.4 mmt last week.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat led the grain complex to the upside, with follow-through buying after yesterday’s report. In the September contract, Chicago climbed 10-3/4 cents to 600, Kansas City was up 9-3/4 cents at 635, and MIAX gained 12 cents to 618-1/2.
• It is estimated that speculative traders bought 8,000 contracts of Chicago wheat yesterday, which would cut their net short position to about 72,000. Nevertheless, open interest increased by about 7,000 contracts for Chicago wheat, which indicates fresh buying interest in the market.
• A heat wave is hitting the US this week, and one is also expected to hit Canada next week. Temperatures in Canada are forecasted to be 3-5 degrees Celsius above normal. However, rainfall is expected to be 1-3 inches above normal, which should limit stress on the spring wheat crop.
• Two milling groups in South Korea are reported to have purchased 100,000 mt of milling wheat from the US in their tender. The USDA also recently confirmed sales of 100,000 mt of US HRW wheat to Nigeria, for delivery in the 26/27 marketing year.
• Paris milling wheat futures closed higher today, aided by a weakening Euro. This may have lent some support to the US market. Additionally, it is reported that US SRW wheat export offers are now very competitive versus that from the EU, which may lead to increased buying interest from global importers.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III milk continues to weaken, with the August contract down 26 cents at $16.08 as the market struggles to find support
• Spot cheese and dry whey were both unchanged today, closing at $1.4525/lb and $0.6850/lb, respectively.
• Class IV milk lacked support from the spot market and closed lower across the board.
• Spot butter fell 1.75 cents to close at $1.68/lb, while nonfat dry milk (powder) dropped another 9.50 cents to settle at $1.5350/lb.
• Class III June settlement was $15.98 and Class IV was $20.96.

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Author

Amanda Brill