By Kirk Maltais
--Corn for July delivery fell 1.1%, to $4.57 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, with grain traders expecting farmers to go into their fields over the next few days to plant ahead of storms forecast to hit the U.S. next week.
--Wheat for July delivery fell 0.4%, to $6.63 a bushel.
--Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.3%, to $12.16 1/2 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Severe Storms: Weather forecasts for next week are calling for severe precipitation to hit areas of the eastern Corn Belt, including Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. With U.S. corn planting having already experienced delays on account of excessive rainfall, analysts expect that farmers will have a chance to accelerate their planting plans ahead of next week's storms, which would otherwise keep them out of their fields. "Key is how much planting progress is scored prior to Sunday/Monday," said AgResource in a note.
Compare and Contrast: Positive data from Kansas' winter wheat crop is keeping gains from Russia's weather issues in check. Participants on a crop tour held by the Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers this week said that although signs of weather stress are present, much of the winter crop in the state appears to have held on through drought and disease. "Better-than-expected results from the crop tour...have offset concerns about Russia," AgriTel said in a note.
INSIGHT
Surprise Drop-Off: The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) said that April soybean crushing in the U.S. fell to a 7-month low. "A downturn in demand, as biofuel producers turned to cheaper alternatives like imported used cooking oil, has eroded crush margins," said John Stewart and Associates in a note. NOPA says that the April crush rate was 166.034 million bushels processed. Downtime in plants also weighed on the soy crush rate.
Off the Grid: Export sales of U.S. soybeans for the week ended May 9 fell below the expectations of analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The USDA said that soybean export sales totaled 290,900 metric tons across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 marketing years. That's below analyst forecasts, which placed sales between 300,000 tons and 600,000 tons. Egypt was the leading buyer of U.S. soybeans for the week, purchasing 90,400 tons for delivery in 2023/24. China's lack of presence in the report pressured the ag complex throughout the day.
AHEAD
--The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.
--The USDA will release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.
--The USDA will release its weekly Crop Progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-16-24 1527ET
