Corn is trading mostly unchanged this morning, with only marginal gains and losses across contract months.
The March corn contract made another attempt yesterday to break out of its current range but was rejected after hitting a high of 497. Since January 29, the market has tested the 496.50 to 498.50 range in seven of the last ten trading days.
In yesterday’s WASDE report, the USDA lowered China’s corn import estimate by 3 million metric tons (mmt) to 10 mmt. For comparison, last year the USDA had China’s corn imports at 23.4 mmt—a significant drop.
Soybeans started higher in the overnight session, posting gains of around 3 cents, but have since turned lower, now trading 5-6 cents below yesterday’s close.
The March contract, which hit a new high of 1079.75 last week, has been stair-stepping lower and is now testing 1039—a level that hasn’t been closed below since January 17.
While the USDA left the U.S. soybean balance sheet unchanged in yesterday’s WASDE report, some analysts expect eventual increases of 25 million bushels each in U.S. exports and crush.
All three wheat classes are currently trading 1-4 cents higher, though they’ve pulled back from overnight highs, where gains reached 5-6 cents.
Global weather uncertainty could be providing support, with dry conditions in Ukraine and Russia and colder temperatures expected next week in both Russia and the U.S. Plains.
Continuing the theme of lower Chinese grain demand, the USDA lowered China’s wheat import estimate by 2.5 million metric tons (mmt) to 8 mmt, down from 13.6 mmt last year.
Grain Market Insider is provided by Stewart-Peterson Inc., a publishing company.
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