Corn Futures Close to Turning Positive for December
- March CBOT corn futures added 13-3/4 cents this week to close at 666-1/4
- New crop December of 2023 CBOT corn futures added 4-1/4 cents this week to close at 6.01-3/4
- March futures pushed through the 20-day moving average and this spurred additional buying earlier this week but stopped short of resistance at 670 and the 100-day moving average
- Weak weekly export sales weighed on corn prices on Thursday but rec overed today with a little help from double digit gains in wheat
- Brazil could be running out of old crop corn for export
- Argentina corn is 52% planted versus 60% last year. Only 15% of the crop is rated good to excellent
- March corn futures briefly traded above 667 and officially higher for the month
Soybeans Near Unchanged on the Week
- January CBOT soybean futures shed 1 cent this week to close at 1479
- New crop November of 2023 CBOT soybean futures gained 4-1/4 cents this week to close at 1393-1/2
- January soybeans recovered from weakness on Thursday to finish just a penny lower for the week
- Over the past 3 weeks prices have been stuck in a narrow, 36 cents trading range near 6-month highs. The March soybean contract continues to hold the 20-dma. This market is winding up for a potential breakout
- Brazil is reported at 97% planted and we are hearing of early harvest activity in Mato Grasso
- In Argentina, only 12% of the soybean crop was rated good to excellent and only 61% of the crop is planted due to the continued drought
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Wheat Prices Higher
- March CBOT wheat futures added 22-1/2 cents this week to close at 776
- March KCBOT wheat futures added 30-3/4 cents this week to close at 874-3/4
- March MGEX spring wheat futures added 22-1/4 cents this week to close at 931-3/4
- The winter storm moving across the US supported wheat prices this week. The extreme drop in temperatures and lack of snow cover have raised concerns of winter kill
- Ukraine President Zelenskyy’s visit to the US has the market worried about the potential escalation of the war with Russia
Mostly Lower Trade this Week
The positives for this week lie mainly on the Class III side with cheese gaining a dime, the January contract closing 81 cents off the weekly low for a gain of 22 cents, and the February contract leaving a nice tail off its low as well. Outside of that, the deferred Class III milk contracts and the Class IV complex gave up value and struggle to find a footing. Monday’s Milk Production report was devoid of any major surprises, Tuesday’s Global Dairy Trade was negative, and yesterday’s Cold Storage report was uneventful. Arguably, the biggest risk to the dairy market at the moment is a lessening of demand for US export products.
Author
Marianne Janka