Grains Higher Overnight

Grains were higher overnight with soybeans adding nearly 17 cents to yesterday’s 50 cent loss, while corn was firmer by 7. Wheat was higher by 3. In outside markets, crude oil also tried to recover some of Thursday’s sharp selloff as did US equities ahead of the US June jobs report.

The condition of wheat crops in France worsened again last week just as harvesting was getting under way, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday, suggesting crops were continuing to suffer from the heavy spring rain. Some 59 percent of soft wheat was rated good or excellent as of July 4, down from 65 percent a week earlier and the lowest rating for the period in the past five years, FranceAgriMer said in a weekly crop progress report. It estimated that 1 percent of the soft wheat area had been harvested by Monday, compared with 11 percent a year earlier.

Showers will stretch from the S. Plains into the northern Delta this weekend, with scattered activity returning Monday/Tuesday to a few spots in the northwest Midwest. 6 to 15 day rains favor the central/southeast Midwest, with a slightly drier trend around the Great Lakes and wetter in the Ohio Valley since yesterday. Given recent rains and the outlook, the best chances for building moisture stress will likely focus on eastern South Dakota, southeast North Dakota, far northwest Iowa, far southwest Minnesota, southern Michigan, and far northern Ohio (15% of Midwest) during the next two weeks, although yesterday’s rain did bring temporary relief to spots around the Great Lakes

The US jobs report was bullish for the economy as US employers added 287,000 jobs in June while the jobless rate rose to 4.9%. The US dollar shot higher on this news as traders looked for strength in the US economy to stimulate investment demand and push the value of the dollar higher.

WEEKLY EXPORT SALES

The risk of trading futures, hedging, and speculating can be substantial. Grain Hedge is a Branch of Foremost Trading LLC (NFA ID: 0307930)