The CME and Total Farm Marketing Offices will be Closed Friday, April 18, in Observance of Good Friday

CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Despite another strong week of export sales, corn futures failed to find any traction and finished the trading week with mild losses as the most active July futures consolidated around the 490-price level. July corn futures finished the week 6 ¾ cents lower.
• The USDA released weekly export sales on Thursday morning. For the week ending April 10, U.S. exporters reported new sales of 1.562 MMT (61.5 MB). Corn sales commitments now total 2.228 bb in 2024-25 and are up 27% from a year ago. This total is still ahead of the recently adjusted USDA export pace. Mexico was the largest buyer of U.S. corn last week.
• Front-end corn futures could be under pressure with corn movement and pricing. Pricing of May basis contract can bring sellers into the market as producers are looking to wrap up cash sales before getting into field work.
• Weather will be a key focus over the weekend, with another round of rainfall expected across the Southern Plains. Continued wet conditions could further complicate the region’s already soggy fields, potentially delaying early-season planting progress.
• Monday’s USDA Planting Progress report will give a view of the pace of planting in some areas, as producers are progressing on both early corn and soybean planting windows.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybean futures ended the shortened holiday week lower, retreating by as much as 7 cents. Despite attempts over the past five sessions, soybeans failed to close above the 200-day moving average, highlighting the ongoing resistance at that level. Soybean meal also finished lower, while soybean oil gained ground, following the upward movement in crude oil.
• Today’s export sales report saw soybean sales on the higher end of trade estimates, especially for new crop sales. The USDA reported 20.4 mb of soybean sales for 24/25 and 6.7 mb for 25/26. Primary destinations were to Mexico, the Netherlands, and Germany. Export shipments of 26.5 mb were above the 12.3 mb needed each week to meet the USDA’s expectations.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange updated their crop progress report which shows 24/25 soybeans now 4.9% harvested which compares to 2.6% last week. Production is still estimated at 48.6 mmt. The Brazilian harvest is virtually complete with China as their top buyer.
• For the week, May soybeans lost 6-1/4 cents while November gained 7 cents to $10.32-1/2. May soybean meal lost $4.00 to $295.60, and May soybean oil gained 0.52 cents to 47.87 cents. Soybean oil benefitted from an increase in crude oil this week of around 3 dollars a barrel.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat futures closed mixed on the day after giving back earlier strength. Chicago and Minneapolis contracts posted modest gains, while Kansas City futures edged lower. Rainfall across key growing areas in Kansas may have pressured the Kansas City market, while there may have been some profit taking ahead of the three-day weekend.
• The USDA reported an increase of 2.8 mb of wheat export sales for 24/25 and an increase of 10.1 mb for 25/26. Shipments last week at 17.8 mb fell under the 21.4 mb pace needed per week to reach their export goal of 820 mb. Total wheat sales commitments have reached 787 mb, up 14% from last year.
• SovEcon is reported to have raised their estimate of Russia’s 2025 wheat crop production by 1.1 mmt to 79.7 mmt. On a related bullish note, Russia’s wheat stocks as of April 1 are said to be almost 50% less than they were a year ago.
• According to the USDA, as of April 15, an estimated 34% of U.S. winter wheat acres are experiencing drought conditions; this is up 2% from last week. Spring wheat areas in drought held steady at 43%, however. Nonetheless, more moisture is needed for wheat growing regions.
• FranceAgriMer has issued new estimates of French soft wheat exports for the 24/25 season. They lowered their projection of exports outside of the EU by 0.1 mmt to 3.1 mmt. However, they increased the forecast for exports within the EU from 6.28 mmt to 6.42 mmt.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III futures held strong gains into the close with the May contract 39 cents higher to $18.30.
• Spot cheese was 1.25 cents lower today to move to $1.8375/lb, but capped off 6.25 cents of gains in the shortened week.
• For Class IV futures, April through June did not change today while small to moderate gains were seen in the second half of 2025 contracts.
• Spot butter and powder were quiet this week, with butter losing a half cent since Friday while powder gained the same.
• The grain and dairy markets, along with the Total Farm Marketing offices, will be closed tomorrow for Good Friday. Have a Happy Easter!

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Author

John Heinberg