Grain prices were mixed to start the week, with most contracts failing to move more than 0.5% in either direction.
In Chicago, the additional reports of fieldwork delays in Brazil kept corn and soybean prices in the green.
While wheat contracts slid moderately lower on some technical selling.
Traders, indeed, are squarring positions ahead of this morning’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report from USDA.
The US Senate approved the coronavirus stimulus package, boosting investor confidence.
President Biden is almost certain to sign the $1.9 trillion bill into law after the House approves it later this week.
Consequently the U.S. Dollar firmed moderately.
Energy futures stumbled, in contrast, with crude oil dropping 1.5% lower to hover around $65 per barrel.
Gasoline dropped 1%, with diesel down around 1.75%.
US weekly export inspections were fairly strong, but still mostly as expected.
Wheat export inspections, indeed, rebounded from the prior week’s lackluster tally to a more respectable total of 482.130 t;
Soybean export inspections saw week-over-week reductions of 41%, falling to 587.594 t.
Corn export inspections reached 1.544.460 t.
As of March 7, the EU exported 18.23 million tonnes of common wheat against 22.5 million last year to date.
Barley exports stand at 5.15 million tonnes against 5.33 last year, still to date.
Corn imports are down to 10.93 million tonnes against 15.01 last year.
Soybean imports are up slightly year-over-year, reaching 9.44 million tonnes.
EU canola imports are also up from a year ago, but soymeal imports are trending 6% below last year’s pace.
Brazilian consultancy AgRural reports that the country’s soybean harvest has reached 35% completion, versus 49% at the same time a year ago.
High humidity in the No. 1 production state of Mato Grosso are creating some quality problems.
In addition, the large amount of soy leaving fields with high humidity are causing lines of trucks at warehouses because the standardization of the batches has consuming more time due to excess damp.
AgRural referred also that Brazil’s second corn crop is only 54% planted, versus progress of 80% at this time last year.
If rainy weather persists, further delays may be likely.
On the international scene, we will note the purchase by Iran of 40,000 t of feed barley and Pakistan claims to have contracted for 2022 around 600,000 t of soybeans from the North and South American continent.
Pakistan also issued another international tender to purchase 300.000 t of wheat from optional origins for shipment in five consignments between April and August.
The country passed on all offers in a similar tender last week, with prices regarded as too high.
Saudi Arabia bought 660,000 t of feed barley from optional origins.
Consequently, Chicago corn and soybean prices settled slightly higher.
While wheat prices suffered a moderate setback.
US wheat prices, indeed, face a generally uphill battle in the short term, with ample domestic supplies and fierce overseas competition that is still a concern.
Also European market was mixed yesterday, with the exception of rapeseed, that once again showed a good performance, like other vegetable oils, with a shift between the May 2021 and August 2021 deadlines of 80 € / t.
This is a record.
This firmness is the result of extremely tight balance sheets, particularly in Canada with a carry-over stock of canola at the end of the season which could be below so-called buffer levels.
Also palm oil is at its highest for 10 years.
Wheat prices, on the contrary, showed a slight increase only in close deliveries, mainly as a result of Algeria’s call for tenders.
The competition, indeed, should be very tough on this destination.
The preferred origins could be, both Europe and Argentina.
We will see how the sessions close tonigth.
