Grains starting day in the red. Thursday, August 22, 2024

December corn is down 2¢ this morning.

November soybeans are down 7¾¢.

December wheat contracts are lower. CBOT wheat is down 7¾¢. KC wheat is down 6¢. Minneapolis wheat is down 4¾¢.

For the fourth consecutive day, the USDA announced new export sales. Today’s announcements involved corn and soybean exports:

• China is buying 198,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2024/2025 marketing year.
• Mexico is buying 110,490 metric tons of corn for the 2024/2025 marketing year.
• Vietnam is buying 105,000 metric tons of soybean cake and meal for the 2024/2025 marketing year.
• Unidentified destinations are buying 132,000 metric tons of corn for the 2024/2025 marketing year.

The USDA also released the weekly Export Sales report this morning. Naomi Blohm, senior market adviser at Total Farm Marketing, described the report as “awesome” for grains and “mostly as expected” given the lower prices and the lower U.S. dollar.

The Pro Farmer Crop Tour continued for a third day yesterday. Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX, says the tour announced a record corn yield estimate for Illinois at 204.1 bushels per acre (bpa).

“Yields may end up much bigger, considering how this year’s Midwest weather favors larger seed size, not considered in this week’s yield considerations, and considering the strong tendency of the tour to understate final USDA yields,” he says. “Furthermore, the statewide average soybean pod count for Illinois came in at a new tour high for any state since 2000 at 1,419 pods in a 3 X 3-foot square, up from 1,271 pods last year, and up from the three-year average of 1,267 pods.

“The western leg of the tour found more mixed results in western Iowa, with portions of the region adversely impacted by the heavy rains and flooding that impacted results in southeastern South Dakota on the first day of the tour. Some areas saw higher corn yields and soybean pod counts than last year and the three-year average, while others saw mixed to lower results.”

October live cattle are up 35¢ this morning. September feeder cattle are up $1.15. October lean hogs are down 53¢.

October crude oil is up 14¢.

The U.S. Dollar Index September contract is up to 101.25.

September S&P 500 futures are up 21 points. September Dow futures are up 97 points.

Tags: futures, live cattle, feeder cattle, lean hogs, corn, soybeans, wheat