Markets - General
Yield prospects for hard red winter wheat in central Kansas were above average, scouts on an annual crop tour said on Tuesday, although yield-robbing diseases, primarily stripe rust, were prevalent in some areas.
Corn prices closed in the green Tuesday, but old crop soybean prices were under pressure again. AgriTalk host Chip Flory digested Tuesday’s market action with Joe Vaclavik of Standard Grain.
Corn and soybean supplies will remain tight enough the next 15 months to make it difficult to recognize the high when it is made.
As the extreme volatility and extended price limits played out in the markets this week, Joe Vaclavik of Standard Grain says the main issue traders are watching are possible changes to corn acreage this year.
China’s corn buying spree continued Friday with a sale of 1.36 million metric tons (mmt). The announcement came on the heels of a week of consistent new crop sales.
The unexplained suspension of operations of a key Chinese agricultural data provider has left traders, analysts and brokers scrambling for other sources of information on one of the world’s most important farm markets.
Dry weather and poorly timed planting are weighing on Brazil’s second corn crop this year, reviving fears of another surge in feed prices like the one that battered big meatpackers after a 2016 drought.
USDA’s first look at new crop in the May WASDE indicated higher crop prices could start to erode demand. However, USDA points out greater domestic use could help offset the idea of lower exports.
As soybean supply concerns continue to impact the market, USDA’s fresh look at 2020/2021 ending stocks in the May WASDE report paints a scenario where soybean supplies will remain extremely tight.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures jumped 1.8% on Tuesday, surging above $16 a bushel for the first time since September 2012 as traders focused on prospects for tight supplies until late 2022.