Grains are mostly lower in overnight trading:
Mar Corn – 3 ½ cents/bu (6.02 )
Jan Soybeans – 14 ¾ cents/bu (13.41 ¾ )
Mar Chi Wheat + 1 ¾ cents/bu (7.89 ½ )
Cdn $ +0.00135 (78.285 cents)
WTI Crude Oil -0.39/barrel (76.17)
Grain futures have been under pressure for the entire evening trading session, as year end profit taking continues, and as traders focus on South American weather forecasts that continue to show the possibility of showers for southern Brazil next week. Yesterday, showers in the Parana region of Brazil were heavier than expected, although the overall La Nina weather pattern remains firmly entrenched at the moment. Early soybean harvest has started in Mato Grosso, with very good early yields reported.
Later this morning, the USDA will release it’s Weekly Export Sales Report for the week ended December 23rd. The trade is not expecting to see much in the way of big sales, given the lack of USDA Flash Sale announcements during the reporting window. Trade estimates for the report are listed below, in thousands of tonnes:
Russia’s wheat export taxes will rise to $98.20/ton on January 12th, up from the current duty of $94.90/ton. This represents the highest duty rate since the floating tax was introduced back in early June 2021.