August 3, 2023 – Update

US farm markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday. Corn prices stumbled 1.76% lower. Soybeans dropped 0.74%. The rest of the soy complex was mixed, as soymeal closed with 0.98% losses, while soyoil bucked the overall trend, scraping 0.42% gains. Wheat prices continued to degrade lower, with Chicago SRW falling 1.88%, Kansas City HRW lost 2.18%, and Minneapolis HRS dropped 0.67%. A broad selloff after the U.S. credit rating downgrade affected the grain markets too. Corn, soybean and spring wheat fell also on friendly weather forecasts expected during the first half of August. Soybeans dipped to one-month lows, but expectations for a bullish set of export sales data limited losses. Chicago wheat slid for a sixth consecutive session, after sharp gains overnight, as supply jitters caused by a Russian strike against a Ukrainian port were tempered by strong Russian exports and signs Moscow is open to reviving a Black Sea corridor deal. In Europe, markets were mixed, as wheat and corn edged lower, while rapeseed closed up, despite the fall in soy and canola. Oil prices settled down 2% despite record US crude stock drawdown, as U.S. debt rating was downgraded by a major ratings agency. The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index in London snapped a five-session winning streak, falling 2.4%. On Wall Street, US stock indexes closed sharply lower, on U.S. debt rating downgrade and higher bond yields. The DXI rose by +0.30% and posted a 3-1/2 week high, as the dollar moved higher due to the jump in T-note yields.