Grain futures are softening at midday:
Corn – 7 3/4 cents/bu (May @ 5.39)
Soybeans – 11 3/4 cents/bu (May @ 13.81 1/4)
Chi Wheat – 14 1/2 cents/bu (May @ 6.02 1/4)
Cdn $ -0.00205 (79.190 cents)
WTI Crude Oil -1.00/barrel (60.56)
No reports out today, no boats stuck in canals, and minimal market moving news. Grain markets are dropping as the countdown to the March 31st USDA reports gets smaller. Traders are positioning themselves ahead of the report, many of whom are taking some risk off the table and selling off some of their long positions.
There was a flash sale this morning (on the smaller side) of 108,000mt of corn to unknown destinations for 2020/21 delivery. This was not nearly enough to pull corn out of a sell off this morning.
The picture below from Karen Braun shows that in the past 10 years, soybeans have been more commonly overestimated, than underestimated, while corn is a mix of both. The March reports are notorious for holding surprises, so the trade is anxious about the numbers that will be put forward.
Estimates for the report are below. Only time will tell how accurate the USDA’s planting projections are.