Grains close in the green:
July Corn + 15 1/2 cents/bu (7.42 1/2)
July Soybeans +1 1/2 cents/bu (16.99 1/4) Below the $17 threshold again
July Chi Wheat + 52 3/4 cents/bu (11.04 1/2)
Cdn $ +0.00070 (79.52 cents)
WTI Crude Oil -0.37 (118.50)
Wheat has once again propelled higher after the Putin government’s failure to keep up their “good-guy” façade. Last week, Russia was in the news for being aimable and making progress in discussions to letting Ukraine continue to safely export grain out of their ports. This charade was easy to see-through over the weekend as bombings on Ukraine escalated- including one on a major Ukrainian grain export terminal. This was enough for the trade to add some “war-premium” back into grain prices. President Zelenskyy noted that their country has 75 million tonnes of grain that could be stuck in the country this fall, and he pleaded with Western countries for support shipping the grain, and providing weapons. This current inability to move grain is provoking fear in countries regarding global hunger. By extension, Reuters posted an article today showing that biofuel mandates may lessen in the short-term as grain for food trumps grain demand for ethanol or soyoil.
Wheat is clearly the big story today, and since it and corn often move together, we saw corn push higher too.
The first US crop condition report for corn was announced today at 73% good/excellent which was 5% higher than the trade was expecting. We will see the first conditions for spring wheat and soybeans on the report next week. In terms of crop progress, planting percentages came in around expected, with the shocker being just how little has been planted in North Dakota. Only 41% of their soybeans were planted as of June 5th and they are only days away from their prevent plant date on the 10th. Additionally, 74% of spring wheat was planted as we passed their prevent plant date of June 5th. Some farmers will plant past these dates, but it goes to show the drastic decrease in crops in the state. Additionally, 81% of North Dakota's corn was planted as of June 5, still the slowest pace on record. Final planting date for full crop insurance eligibility was May 25 for most of the state. Planting corn too late is risky because of the chances of early frost. This report was released after the close today, so we can anticipate the market to take these values into consideration overnight and upon open tomorrow.
The U.S. grain export inspections report was released this morning for the week ending June 2nd. Corn was on the higher end of expectations, while wheat was on the low end, and soybeans fell short. Marketing year to date corn export shipments exceed the seasonal pace needed to hit USDA's target by 98 million bushels, while marketing year soybean export shipments to date fall short of the seasonal pace needed to hit USDA's target by 27 million bushels.
Funds were thought to have been mixed today. Corn and wheat were expected to be buyers (big ones at that), and soybeans were expected to have been a seller.