Corn, soybean markets start the month mixed

More U.S. corn, soybean sales announced Monday.

On Monday, the CME Group’s farm markets finish mixed.

At the close, the March corn futures finished 2¼¢ higher at $5.49. May corn futures settled 1¢ higher at $5.48. New-crop December corn futures ended 1¼¢ higher at $4.47¾.

March soybean futures settled 4¾¢ lower at $13.65¼. May soybean futures closed 4½¢ lower at $13.62¾. New-crop November futures closed 11¢ higher at $11.54.

March wheat futures closed 12¢ lower at $6.51.

March soymeal futures closed $0.50 short term lower at $430.50.

March soy oil futures finished 0.35¢ higher at 44.97¢ per pound.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $1.45 per barrel higher (+2.78%) at $53.65. The U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 307 points higher (+1.03%) at 30,289 points.

Britt O’Connell, ever.ag, says that the markets have had a quiet session to start the week.

“Corn and soybean markets started the overnight session high with March corn establishing a new high at $5.55 before moving lower. As we move toward midsession, old-crop and new-crop markets are lower in both commodities. We’ve mentioned that volatility will likely remain a fixture in our marketplace, and today it is showcasing that very thing. China’s corn purchases last week must have gotten others into the mood of buying. This morning, it was announced that Mexico, typically our largest corn purchaser, stepped into the market and bought 126 mmt of old-crop corn. Another familiar face in the mix was Japan, recording a 110 mmt buy.”

O’Connell added, “It’s worth noting that Brazil is getting a lot of rain right now, slowing down harvest and delaying its massive 8.5 mmt of soybeans that are set to leave the port in the month of February. Pair that with a trucker strike that started today, and time will be of the essence – lost days cannot be regained, especially when you’re aiming at record exports,” O’Connell says.

On Monday, private exporters reported to the USDA the following activity:

• Export sales of 125,730 metric tons of corn for delivery to Mexico during the 2020/2021 marketing year.
• Export sales of 110,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to Japan during the 2020/2021 marketing year.
• Export sales of 133,000 metric tons of soybean meal for delivery to the Philippines during the 2020/2021 marketing year.

The marketing year for corn began Sept. 1; soybean meal began Oct. 1.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Weekly 72 Winners & Losers list, the corn market was up 9.29% last week, the best performing financial instrument on The Street last week. Corn’s performance was followed by COMEX Silver up 5.34% second best; wheat up 4.49% was the third best. Last week, soybeans were up 4.44%.

Bob Linneman, Kluis Advisors, says that investors want to see if the markets can repeat last week’s strong performance.

“Grain prices finished out last week on a high note. Corn was up over 45¢ while soybeans were over 50¢ higher for the week. The front end of corn is leading the way; new contract highs were hit overnight. Soybean prices need to surpass the high from last week before any momentum traders will be willing to step in on the long side. The key area to watch is $13.95 for March soybeans,” Linneman stated in a daily note to customers.

Linneman added, “The massive corn sales logged last week forced many analysts to sharpen their pencils and figure out how the balance sheet will look for U.S. corn going forward. Many in the industry expect USDA to increase exports, but by how much? And how quickly will they do it? Knowing what we know today, it is not hard to take the stocks-to-use ratio below 9%.”

SuccessfulFarming

Tags: corn futures, soybean market, CME Group's farm markets