Chicago Beans Up, Corn And Wheat Lower
14/01/15 -- Soycomplex: Beans and meal closed with small gains, save for the expiring Jan 15 contracts. The USDA announced 202,750 MT of US beans sold to unknown. That was split 102,750 MT for 2014/15 shipment and 100,000 MT for 2015/16 delivery. South Korea's KOCOPIA bought 50,000 MT of US beans for March/April shipment. Pakistan were said to have bought 66,000 MT of US beans, and be shopping for a further 60,000 MT from Brazil for April shipment. Chinese customs data showed that the country imported 18.658 MMT of soybeans between October – December up 5.9% from a year previously. The Rosario Grains Exchange estimated Argentina’s 2014/15 bean crop at 54.5 MMT versus a previous estimate of 55.0 MMT (the latter figure being the same as the USDA's and Dr Cordonnier's current forecasts). Dr Cordonnier trimmed his view on Brazil to 93.5 MMT versus a previous estimate of 94.0 MMT. Ag Resource are higher than that at 94-96 MMT. The USDA went for 95.5 MMT on Monday. Oil World said that Brazil exported only 139 TMT of soybeans in December, down from 177 TMT in November. The harvest in Brazil's Mato Grosso is said to be 2% complete, whilst Parana state is 3% done. Tomorrow brings Informa's take on US plantings this year, plus the NOPA crush report for December and the regular Thursday weekly export sales numbers. The trade is looking for bean sales of around 600,000-900,000 MT. Jan 15 Soybeans closed at $9.92 1/2, down 7 1/2 cents; Mar 15 Soybeans closed at $10.09 1/4, up 5 1/4 cents; Jan 15 Soybean Meal closed at $328.90, down $20.80; Jan 15 Soybean Oil closed at $32.57, up 18 points.
Corn: The corn market closed around 4-5 cents lower. Crude fell to new lows, but had recovered somewhat to trade higher by the close. The US Energy Dept reported weekly ethanol production of 978,000 barrels/day, up from 949,000 the previous week. Stocks jumped from 18.8 million barrels to 20.2 million. The USDA announced 125,000 MT of US corn sold to Taiwan for 2014/15 shipment. Israel bought 100,000 MT of optional origin corn, with Ukraine thought to be the most likely supplier. The Rosario Grains Exchange estimated Argentina’s 2014/15 corn crop at 22.4 MMT versus a previous estimate of 21.5 MMT and the USDA's 22.0 MMT. Dr Cordonnier came in at 21.0 MMT, unchanged from his previous estimate. He sees production in Brazil at 74.0 MMT, which is also unchanged from his previous estimate. "Early planted corn in Argentina is subject to moisture stress in key producing areas of western Buenos Aires, northern Cordoba and La Pampa, according to a new report from Agro South. Currently 29% of corn is in the flowering stage and another 10% is filling grain based on data from the Ministry of Agriculture," said Martell Crop Projections. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report are around 650,000 MT to 1 MMT. Mar 15 Corn closed at $3.81, down 4 3/4 cents; May 15 Corn closed at $3.88 1/2, down 5 cents.
Wheat: The wheat market closed lower, extending the recent losing streak to six straight sessions. Egypt appear to see this break in prices as an opportunity, they are back in the market with their second tender of 2015. The results of that are expected tomorrow. French wheat got a clean sweep in their last tender. US wheat remains hindered by the strong dollar, although that was a little off the highs today. Trade expectations for tomorrow's weekly export sales report are a fairly modest 350-550 TMT. They were only 151,000 MT last week, the lowest total of the season so far. Pakistan announced their intention to sell 1 MMT of their surplus wheat stocks. The Rosario Grains Exchange estimated Argentina’s 2014/15 wheat crop at 12.1 MMT versus a previous estimate of 12.0 MMT - the latter also being where the USDA currently sit. Various reports out of Ukraine suggest that some form of cap on wheat exports is to be put into place. Russia's export duty announcement doesn't yet seem to be doing them much good in procuring grain for the domestic intervention fund. They only picked up 4,320 MT of grain for that today, making the total bought since September 30th just 313,180 MT out of a stated aim to buy 5 MMT for government stocks. Mar 15 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.37 3/4, down 10 1/4 cents; Mar 15 KCBT Wheat closed at $5.75, down 6 3/4 cents; Mar 15 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.80 1/2, down 8 cents.
