Soybeans Slide as Streak of Chinese Sales End
September 24 2020 - 3:20PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Soybeans for November delivery fell 1.4% to $10 a bushel on
the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, falling below $10 per bushel
intraday as the streak of USDA reporting of export sales to China
ended.
--Corn for December delivery fell 1.4% to $3.63 1/2 a
bushel.
--Wheat for December delivery rose 0.1% to $5.49 3/4 a
bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Streak Ends: The streak of flash sales of U.S. agriculture to
China came to an end today, one factor pulling soybean futures
below the $10 per bushel mark intraday Thursday. "I am afraid the
streak has been broken as there were no new sales in the daily
reporting system, but we continue to pile up the numbers in the
weekly report," said Dan Hueber of the Hueber Report. At its
highest point of nearly $10.50 per bushel, the most recent rally
put soybean futures at their highest levels since May 2018. Today's
weekly export sales report came in stronger than expected for
soybeans, but traders focused more on the end of the streak.
Dollar General: The dollar index traded on the Intercontinental
Exchange rose for four consecutive sessions, creating a drag on
grains futures. The index began trading higher today, although it
then turned lower in the afternoon. "The jump of the dollar is also
reducing the competitiveness of the U.S. origins," said AgriTel.
"This is especially concerning the wheat market in a context of a
stiff international competition mainly with Black Sea
countries."
INSIGHTS
Exceeding Expectations: This week's grain export sales report
from the USDA shows high export totals for both corn and soybeans.
For corn, export sales totaled 2.14 million metric tons, while
soybean sales totaled 3.19 million tons. Both of these figures
exceed the high end of estimates provided to The Wall Street
Journal by grains traders, and both are driven largely by sales to
China. "Robust soybean sales... pull crop-year commitments to 1.306
billion bushels, 61.4% of USDA's export projection and 193% above
this time last year," said Terry Reilly of Futures International.
The high sales provided fodder for traders believing that prices
will ultimately move higher, despite the mostly downward movement
of today.
Docile Weather: The U.S. harvest doesn't appear to have any
threats coming to it by way of weather in the Corn Belt. "The
Central U.S. forecast features spotty showers across the Eastern
Midwest during the first half of next week but otherwise threats to
harvest progress are lacking," said AgResource. Cooler temperatures
are expected next week, but no freezes are anticipated, says the
firm. "Freezing temps are not expected outside of North Dakota and
far northern Minnesota and Wisconsin," said AgResource.
Fighting For Priority: The agriculture industry is arguing for
priority as Covid-19 vaccine tests advance. In a letter Thursday to
the White House coronavirus task force, farm groups including the
American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union say
that vaccine allocation must be prioritized for the "food and fiber
supply chain," saying their industry is critical to U.S. safety and
wellbeing. The U.S. government plans to start shipping out Covid-19
vaccines within 24 hours of any FDA approval, federal officials
said last week.
AHEAD:
--The USDA will release its monthly cattle on feed report at 3
p.m. ET Friday.
--The CFTC releases its weekly commitment of traders report at
3:30 p.m. ET Friday.
--The USDA releases its weekly grain export inspections data at
11 a.m. ET Monday.
--The USDA releases its weekly crop progress report for the
2020/21 crop at 4 p.m. ET Monday.
Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 24, 2020 15:05 ET (19:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.