It’s a Risk-off Friday:

July Corn +1/2 cent/bu (7.30 3/4)

July Soybeans – 27 1/4 cents/bu (17.02)

July Chi Wheat – 14 1/4 cents/bu (10.55 1/2)

Cdn $ -0.00060 (79.44 cents)

WTI Crude Oil +2.02/barrel (118.89)

Grains are coasting lower today as we head into the weekend. With limited news updates impacting the grain sector, traders seem to be taking a risk-off mentality as the last few hours of trading for the week tick-by.

This morning we saw a smaller export sale of 101,600mt of U.S. corn sold for deliver to unknown destinations in 2021/22.

USDA Weekly Export Sales were released this morning, with overall sales poor, but new crop wheat sales did show a bit of bounce, exceeding trade expectations (South Korea was the big buyer).  Marketing year corn export sales to date are close to the seasonal pace needed to hit USDA's target, while soybean sales to date exceed the seasonal pace by 99 million bushels. New-crop soybean export sales on the books to date are record large at 445 million bushels, with 268 million bushels of that total committed to China. Data is listed below, in thousands of tonnes:

The U.S. EPA is expected to set the 2022 biofuel blending mandate slightly below the proposed volume, 2021 above the proposed, and 2020 in line. Small refinery waivers would be denied but compliance deadline extended.

We are still hearing rumblings of Russia allowing Ukraine to export grain, but many people remain skeptical.

The UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) global food price index eased for a 2nd straight month after hitting a record high in March but was still 22.8% above year-ago.

The condition of France’s soft wheat crop declined for a 5th consecutive week amid persistent dryness.