Soybeans Take Brunt of Weather Disappointment
July 16 2019 - 4:30PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Soybeans for November delivery fell 1.5% to $9.06 a bushel on
the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, as traders sold off grains
in reaction to slight improvements in crop conditions for corn and
soybeans.
--Corn for December delivery fell 1.3% to $4.41 1/4 a
bushel.
--Wheat for September delivery fell 0.1% to $5.07 1/2 a
bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Cloudy Skies, No Rain: Corn in good or excellent condition rose
1 percentage point from the previous week to 58%, while soybeans
also climbed 1 percentage point to 54% in good or excellent
condition, according to the crop conditions report issued late
Monday. Hurricane Barry also turned out to be less devastating,
giving traders a reason to sell. "Ratings will likely be expected
to give back that point next Monday," INTL FCStone said. "The trade
has a long wait until better acreage data emerges in August ... and
an even longer wait until harvest likely uncovers lingering crop
issues that are being masked by rapid growth."
Trump Funk: The trade impasse between the U.S. and China hasn't
budged, with President Trump commenting that the U.S. has "a long
way to go" in working out a deal with China. "Coming into today,
the market was already on weak footing," said Don Roose of US
Commodities, calling Mr. Trump's latest statements more posturing
in the negotiations.
INSIGHT
Could Be Worse: The improvement in the USDA's crop conditions
report may only be temporary, traders said. "Considering the start
to the growing season, I don't think the crop just miraculously
made a recovery," Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives said. Any damage
to crops by Hurricane Barry is expected to show up in next week's
conditions report.
Canadian Grains: Grain shipments bolstered Canadian Pacific
Railway's second-quarter earnings, but the shipments were mostly by
Canadian farmers. Company marketing chief John Brooks told
investors that U.S. grain volumes were down in the quarter,
challenged by the trade dispute with China, while shipments of
Canadian grain products grew robustly. The company expects to ship
more in the second half of 2019. The company said grain-related
revenue rose 13% to $324 million in the second quarter.
AHEAD
--The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and
inventories at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
--The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers
at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.
--The USDA will release its monthly cattle on feed report at 3
p.m. EDT Friday.
--The CFTC will releases its weekly commitment of traders data
at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday.
--Micah Maidenberg contributed to this article.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 16, 2019 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.