Soybeans Take Brunt of Weather Disappointment

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)