TFM Midday Update 04-18-2024

CORN

Corn is trading lower at midday and is near the bottom of its recent trading range with pressure coming from rains falling across the Corn Belt and centered in Iowa this morning. More frequent rains and warmer temperatures are forecast for the rest of this month across the Midwest.
Today’s export sales report was on the soft side for corn with an increase of 19.7 mb of sales for 23/24 and an increase of 2.6 mb for 24/25. Corn sales commitments now total 1.759 bb and are up 17% from last year.
Last week’s export shipments of 60.9 mb were a bright spot and were well above the 41.4 mb needed each week to meet the USDA’s estimates. Primary destinations were to Mexico, Colombia, and Japan.

Soybeans are trading lower at midday but have rebounded slightly from their earlier morning lows. Pressure is coming from the advancing planting pace in the US along with lower prices in both soybean meal and oil. Soybean oil has been pulled sharply lower by a correction in palm oil over the past 2 weeks.
Today’s export sales report for soybeans showed an increase of 17.8 mb of sales for 23/24 and an increase of 9.7 mb for 24/25. Sales commitments now total 1.517 bb and are down 18% from a year ago.
Last week’s export shipments of 17.7 mb were above the 13.0 mb needed each week to meet the USDA’s export estimate of 1.700 bb for 23/24. Primary destinations were to China, Indonesia, and Germany.

All three wheat classes are trading higher today with KC and Minneapolis wheat leading the way higher. The US Plains are mostly dry right now but have some chances for rain in the longer term forecast along with above average temperatures.
For the week ending April 11, the USDA reported net cancellations of wheat of 3.4 mb for 23/24 and an increase of 8.2 mb for 24/25. This was on the very low end of trade expectations and puts total sales down 2% from last year.
Last week’s export shipments of 17.9 mb were just above the 17.2 mb needed each week to meet the USDA’s expectations of 710 mb for 23/24. Primary destinations were to the Philippines, China, and Mexico.

Amanda Brill