Wheat Drops as Rain Hits the U.S. Plains
November 25 2020 - 3:36PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Wheat for March delivery fell 3.4% to $5.96 1/2 a bushel, on
the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday, correcting from the past three
days of upticks as rain hit growing areas in the U.S. Midwest.
--Corn for March delivery fell 1.2% to $4.27 1/2 a bushel.
--Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.6% to $11.84 a
bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Storm System: Rainfall in the U.S. Plains applied pressure on
U.S. wheat futures Wednesday."Good rain fell across the US soft red
wheat production areas and advancement of the Australian wheat
harvest weighed on prices," said Terry Reilly of Futures
International. Moderate showers are seen in the Midwest today,
followed by dryness in the eastern portion of the Midwest over the
weekend, according to agricultural weather firm DTN.
Soaring Ethanol Stocks: Corn futures on the CBOT caught some
pressure as inventories of ethanol in the U.S. shot up this week,
rising to their highest level since late August, according to EIA
data. Ethanol inventories shot up 663,000 barrels to 20.87 million
barrels, the EIA said -- far more than previously expected by
analysts amid a resurgent coronavirus that is again taking people
off of the road. Meanwhile, ethanol production also rose, climbing
28,000 barrels per day to 990,000 barrels per day -- their highest
since late March, when the first wave of the pandemic sent ethanol
plants into shutdowns.
INSIGHTS
Cancellation Watch: Grains traders are watching for official
announcements that may confirm if China has cancelled some of its
soybean purchases already announced by the USDA. A story published
by Reuters this morning says that Chinese buyers are looking to
cancel orders due to processing margins for soybeans shrinking amid
high prices for U.S. soybeans, which has U.S. grains traders
nervous. "The... stories about potential cancellations is a concern
with the saying, 'where there's smoke, there's fire' coming to
mind," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. Traders will look to
Friday's export sales report to see if that shows any
cancellations.
Losing Steam: Exports for soybeans and soybean products this
week are expected to fall from the previous week, grain traders
tell The Wall Street Journal. Traders are forecasting soybean
exports to hit anywhere from 800,000 metric tons to 1.4 million
tons. Unless exports hit the high end of trader forecasts, then
exports would be below the previous weeks' total of 1.39 million
tons. Meanwhile, traders are forecasting soybean oil exports to be
anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 tons, which is down from last week's
total of 45,100 tons. Soybean oil futures rose 0.4% Wednesday,
keeping them at their highest level in four years at $37.86 per
pound.
AHEAD:
--The Chicago Board of Trade will be closed in observance of
Thanksgiving on Thursday. It will close early on Friday, reopening
at its regular schedule next week.
--The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers
at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday.
--Grains and livestock trading on the Chicago Board of Trade
will close at 1:05 p.m. ET Friday.
--The USDA releases its weekly grain export inspections data at
11 a.m. ET Monday.
--The USDA releases its monthly agricultural prices report at 3
p.m. ET Monday.
--The USDA releases its weekly crop progress report for the
2020/21 crop at 4 p.m. ET Monday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2020 15:21 ET (20:21 GMT)
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