CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures remained in consolidation mode to end the week, testing recent lows before recovering to finish slightly higher. Position squaring ahead of next week’s USDA WASDE report may have helped limit selling pressure. December corn gained 1 ½ cent to 441 ½, while March Futures gained ¾ cents to 455 ¼.
• December corn traded 6 ¼ cents lower on the week and posted its lowest weekly close since the week of June 29. The corn market has traded lower for six consecutive weeks.
• The USDA will release the November WASDE report on Tuesday, November 10. Traders will be looking for any potential adjustments to the corn yield or tightening of the general corn supply picture. Analysts are forecasting corn yield to drop 0.9 bu/a to 180.3 bu/a, lower total production by 72 mb.
• USDA announced a flash sale of 101,000 MT (3.98 mb) of corn to unknown destinations Friday morning, providing a modest sign of fresh export demand.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day higher in bull spreading action with November climbing back to the 200-day moving average but March still below. New flash sales reported this morning, higher crude oil, and short profit taking likely supported the market ahead of the weekend. Both soy products were moderately higher. Equity markets stabilized which may have soothed commodity trader concerns. In Tuesday’s WASDE report, analysts estimate that soybean yield will be increased to 53.5 bpa from 53.1 bpa last month.
• November soybeans lost 8 cents to $11.89 but took out yesterday’s low earlier in the day while March soybeans gained 3 cents to $11.99-1/4. December soybean meal gained $2.00 to $319.20 and December soybean oil gained 0.02 cents to 62.26 cents. December crude oil is up 40 cents to $90.94 a barrel.
• This morning, private exporters reported a sale of 136,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for the 26/27 marketing year. Currently, China is projected to import 110 mmt of soybeans in 26/27 which would be down from the USDA’s estimate of 115 mmt. China has said that it would be open to buying more US ag products if tariffs are lowered.
• For the week, November soybeans lost 33-1/4 cents and have lost $1.46 since their high in September. March soybeans lost 44-1/2 cents on the week while December soybean meal lost $5.40 and December soybean oil lost 3.64 cents. December crude oil is down $13.11 this week.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• It seems to be a repeating pattern that wheat takes one step forward, and two steps back. Today was no exception, with all three US futures classes closing in the red after putting in new near-term lows. No support was gained from December MATIF wheat, which posted a bullish key reversal this session. In the December contract, Chicago dropped 8 cents to 591-1/4, Kansas City fell 3-1/4 cents to 632-1/2, and MIAX lost 4 cents to 616.
• Adding pressure on wheat today was a surge in the US Dollar Index, driven by the release of the US jobs report. According to the report, non-farm jobs increased by 165,000 last month. This was well above expectations for an increase of 60,000. Additionally, August and September payrolls were revised higher, and the unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 4.1% versus expectations of remaining steady.
• According to the USDA, as of November 3, an estimated 48% of US winter wheat acres are experiencing drought conditions. This is a drop of 2% from the previous week, but remains 10% above the reading from a year ago. Furthermore, spring wheat areas in drought decreased 4% on the week to 34%.
• FranceAgriMer has reported that 84% of the French soft wheat crop has been planted as of November 2. This is up 12% on the week, and is also above the 77% pace from the same time a year ago. In addition, they estimate that 24% of the French durum wheat crop has been planted so far.
• Argentina’s 26/27 wheat harvest is estimated to be 8.5% complete as of November 5. This is an increase of only 1.8% for the week, likely due to delays caused by recent storm fronts moving across the country. The production estimate for Argentina’s wheat crop was unchanged at 23.4 mmt – if realized, this would be down from last year’s 27.8 mmt harvest.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Most Class III futures saw marginable gains despite a weaker showing from its products. December futures however closed 3 cents lower to $16.73.
• Spot cheese was down 1.75 cents to $1.63375/lb while whey fell two pennies to close out the week at $0.84/lb.
• Class IV futures took some heavy selling pressure going into the close on light trading and powder moving lower. December futures lost 41 cents to $20.00.
• Spot butter moved 0.75 cents lower to close at $1.2650/lb. Powder lost 1.50 cents to go home at $2.1975/lb.

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Author

Brandon Doherty