CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• The corn market failed to follow through on Thursday’s strength as prices closed lower on the session. Strong selling in the wheat market and pressure on crude oil prices limited any potential gains in the corn market during the session. July corn closed 2 cents lower to 412 ¾ and December corn feel 1 ½ cents to 441 ½. For the week, July corn was 4 ¾ cents lower and December slipped 2 ½ cents.
• Brazil agriculture firm, Agroconsult, raise their projection to the second crop Brazil corn production by 4 MMt or 3.4% to 115.8 MMT. This is still below last year’s production total. Brazil corn harvest is in its beginning stages.
• Argentina’s corn harvest has reached nearly 60% complete, slightly behind the 64% five-year average. Analysts continue to project a record 64 MMT crop, adding further competition to the global export market.
• USDA will release the June Planted Acres and Grain stocks report on Tuesday, June 30. Expectations are for planted corn acres to be 94.992 million acres, down slightly from the March intentions report and nearly 2.8 million acres below last year. Grain stocks estimates are expected to be 5.408 billion bushels of corn, up 17% year-over-year.
• Going into July, forecasts call for warmer-than-normal temperatures across much of the Corn Belt, while rainfall is expected to remain average to above average in the northern corn belt. This pattern looks to hold into the second week of July before temperatures moderate for the end of the month.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybean futures ended modestly lower after rebounding late in the session to close near the day’s highs. July soybeans lost 1-1/4 cents to 1126-1/4 while November lost ¾ cent to 1156-1/4. July soybean meal lost $1.20 to $307.00 and July soybean oil gained 0.49 cents to 71.30 cents despite a sell-off in crude oil.
• Futures have been volatile this past week as we approach the end of the quarter as well as the USDA report on Tuesday which has the potential to significantly move the market. Analysts expect farmers to have planted 85.25 million soybean acres, up from USDA’s March estimate of 84.7 million acres, as lower input costs compared to corn encouraged some acreage shifts toward soybeans.
• Argentinian oilseed processors are threatening a strike next week due to wage disagreements between unions and the crushing and export industry that are unresolved. Unions are asking for higher wages while exporters are pushing for inflation linked adjustments. If the strike goes through, it would likely be bullish for soy products.
• Grain shipments along the Mississippi River have increased overall while barge rates have fallen according to the USDA. Soybean shipments, however, are down 14% week over week as export sales remain sluggish despite some increased buying by China.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat closed with double digit losses in each of the three classes. A lack of follow-through on yesterday’s higher grain prices, combined with harvest pressure and a lower close for MATIF wheat all weighed on US wheat futures today. In the July contract, Chicago dropped 12-3/4 cents to 578-1/4, Kansas City fell 9-1/2 cents to 611, and MIAX lost 11-3/4 cents to 575-1/2.
• Recent rains across the Northern Plains are expected to boost spring wheat crop conditions in Monday’s USDA Crop Progress report, limiting near-term upside potential for futures.
• According to the USDA’s drought monitor, winter wheat acres experiencing drought conditions, as of June 23, dropped 6% from the previous week to 57%. During the same time period, spring wheat acres in drought increased 2% to 25%.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reports that Argentine wheat planting is now 66% complete as of June 25, up just over 8% from the week before. Their planted acreage estimate was kept steady at 6.5 million hectares; this compares with 6.7 million last season.
• The International Grains Council has forecasted that global 26/27 grain production will fall to 2.426 billion mt. This compares with 2.488 billion for the 25/26 season. A smaller planted area and below average yields are cited as reasons for the decline.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• A strong butter trade led to a rally in Class IV prices with August through December contracts seeing limit higher price action.
• Spot butter improved 9.50 cents to close at $1.65/lb while powder tacked on 1.75 cents to go home at $1.5975/lb.
• Class III futures were also able to find a little support today thanks to the strong Class IV trade. The September contract was up 16 cents to $17.05.
• Spot cheese lost 0.875 cents on the day to close out the week at $1.45/lb. Whey gained 1.50 cents to close at $1.6850/lb.

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Author

Amanda Brill