Corn futures are trading midrange and down 2 to 3 cents to start the week. Soybeans are narrowly mixed, with nearby contracts favoring the upside. Winter wheat futures are 2 to 4 cents lower, while spring wheat futures are 2 to 3 cents higher. The U.S. dollar index is slightly higher. Crude oil futures are under heavy pressure, hitting their lowest level since late May. If crude continues to slide, other commodity markets may also be pulled down.
Rain over the weekend was lighter than expected for southeastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, northwest and eastern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and northern Illinois, reports World Weather Inc. But it says rains topped expectation in central Wisconsin and northeastern South Dakota. Erratic showers are expected for central and eastern areas of the Midwest this week.
China imported 8.67 MMT of soybeans during July, a 14.1% decline from last year’s 10.09 MMT for the month, the country’s General Administration of Customs reported. A decline in hog sector profitability and increased substitution of wheat in feed rations clipped soymeal demand.
Flooding and extreme weather in China disrupted factory and port operations and constrained consumption. Despite the challenges, China’s export sector showed continued resilience, increasing 19.3% in dollar terms in July compared with a year earlier.
The House is in recess but may return to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package and a partisan fiscal year 2022 budget resolution after passage by the Senate, which remains in session. The Senate voted Saturday to get the physical infrastructure bill over a key procedural hurdle, but lawmakers are pessimistic about the chances for a quick agreement.
After a coming vote on the physical infrastructure measure, Senate Democrats plan to immediately turn to a resolution to set up the second part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan: the “human” infrastructure plan. The text of that resolution could be released soon.
Boxed beef values climbed on Friday, marking the 12th consecutive day of gains, many of which have been quite strong. The rally has padded already strong packer profit margins and could prompt producers to dig in and push for higher prices. Cash action was steady to a bit higher last week.
There had been some hope that surging beef prices would spark some value buying demand for pork, but steep declines in the pork cutout value last week dashed such ideas. Cash hog bids tumbled $2.75 nationally on Friday.
