Annual Crop Production

Supply and Demand Report

(The information in the Market Commentaries was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed therein constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any contracts.)  

March Corn finished down 2 at 642 1/4, 2 3/4 off the high and 3 up from the low. May Corn closed down 2 3/4 at 648 1/2. This was 2 1/2 up from the low and 3 1/4 off the high. March corn closed slightly lower on the session but up from early in the session lows. A bearish tilt to outside market forces such as the US dollar, European debt issues and energy prices plus continued talk of slowing demand from the US ethanol industry helped to spark some early selling pressure and moderately lower trade for futures early today. Talk that US producers will plant the most corn since 1944 this coming season added to the negative tone. A turn from negative to positive for energy and metal prices and a rally in the US stock market helped to support a bounce into the mid-session and the market saw quiet and choppy trade late in the day.

March Soybeans finished down 1 at 1232, 7 1/2 off the high and 5 up from the low. May Soybeans closed down 1 at 1241. This was 5 up from the low and 7 off the high. March Soymeal closed down 2.1 at 325.4. This was 0.4 up from the low and 3.3 off the high. March Soybean Oil finished up 0.01 at 52.17, 0.21 off the high and 0.41 up from the low. March soybeans saw some late selling pressure to push the market from slightly higher on the day late in the session to close about 1 cent lower on the session. Weakness in outside market forces plus talk of improving crop conditions in South America helped to pressure the market early in the session today. However, a shift from negative to positive for outside market forces plus continued talk of lower production estimates for South America producers for the upcoming USDA supply/demand update helped support a bounce to slightly higher on the day into the mid-session. A soybean producer group in Paraguay believes that drought has caused production estimates to be revised down to 4.6 million tonnes for this year's crop from 8.4 million tonnes last year. US basis bids along the river were a little lower today which added to the negative tone. Private exporters reported to the USDA a sale of 20,000 tonnes of US soybean oil to Morocco. News that dock workers in Brazil are considering a 24-hour work stoppage on Wednesday helped to provide some underlying support.

March Wheat finished down 6 1/4 at 662 1/4, 9 3/4 off the high and 7 up from the low. July Wheat closed down 7 1/4 at 684 3/4. This was 3 1/2 up from the low and 10 1/4 off the high. March wheat pushed to near unchanged on the day late in the session before active selling emerged late in the day to drive the market moderately lower on the day into the close. Talk of moderating temperatures in the forecast for Europe and weakness in other commodity markets and a bounce in the US dollar helped to pressure the market early today to trade sharply lower on the session and below yesterday's lows. A recovery in the other grains helped support a bounce off of the lows into the mid-session and then a continued break in the US dollar and strength in other commodity markets helped support the rally to near unchanged on the day for late in the session. Tunisia is tendering to buy 25,000 tonnes of soft wheat. Talk that Kansas and northern Oklahoma could receive a bit more moisture today and into the weekend added to the negative tone.