Grains close lower:
July Corn -3/4 cents/bu (5.54 1/2)
July Soybeans -26 cents/bu (13.07 1/4)
July Chi Wheat -6 3/4 cents/bu (6.05)
Cdn $ +0.00045 (74.105 cents)
WTI Crude Oil -0.15/barrel (71.71)
Despite starting the day off stronger, we saw grains and oilseeds turn to the path of least resistance heading into the weekend…lower.
Since last Friday all futures have taken a turn for the worse as momentum and speculators accentuated the drops…
July Corn lost 31 ¾ cents (biggest weekly drop since July 2022)
December Corn lost 9 cents
July Beans lost 82 ¾ cents (-6%, the most for any week since last July. Contract’s lowest settle since January 2022)
November Beans lost 63 ¼ cents
July Wheat lost 30 cents
This week’s headline recap…
- The Grain Corridor was set to expire on the 18th, but was renewed May 16th (Russia cried wolf again)
- The Kansas Wheat Tour showed the yield at 30bu/acre which is the lowest forecast since 2000 (also high abandonment rates)
- Planting Progress chugs along and is expected to show another massive planting update on Monday. This Monday it pegged corn planting at 65% and beans at 49%.
- Desperately needed rains have fallen in the severe drought areas of the central Great Plains, while forecasts continue to favour a good U.S. growing season
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell's commented today about tightening credit and potential rate hikes
Funds were thought to have been all sellers today with corn expected to have sold 1,000 contracts (short 103,000), soybeans to have sold 7,000 contracts (short 1,000), and wheat to have sold 2,000 contracts (short 134,000). On Tuesday, funds were slightly shorter than expected with corn 29,000 contracts shorter, soybeans 4,000 contracts shorter and wheat 0 contracts shorter or longer.