Soybeans Futures Higher on Export Hopes - Daily Grain Highlights
December 03 2021 - 04:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Soybeans for January delivery rose 1.9% to $12.67 1/4 a bushel
on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, in reaction to indications
of rising demand for U.S. exports.
--Corn for March delivery rose 1.3% to $5.84 a bushel.
--Wheat for March delivery fell 1.4% to $8.03 3/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Foreign Appetite: China appears to be buying U.S. soybeans. The
USDA confirmed a flash sale of 122,000 metric tons of soybeans for
delivery to unknown destinations, which traders usually peg as
China, the world's largest consumer of the oilseed. That comes
after the agency confirmed on Thursday that 130,000 tons of
soybeans were sold to China.
Quick Retreat: After jumping over the $8-a-bushel mark Thursday
on indications that the U.S. export market would gain strength from
Russian export taxes, wheat futures pulled back Friday. The
reversal comes as the market further contemplates what the Omicron
variant will mean for world demand. "The primary question at hand
revolves around the health of the domestic and global economy going
forward, and its perceived impact on the demand for commodities,"
said Arlan Suderman of StoneX.
INSIGHTS
Soybean Shuffle: The January contract snapped a five-day losing
streak this week, turning higher on Thursday. This upside may be
limited, AgriTel said. "From March onwards, competition from Brazil
will be fierce, with production expected to reach a record high,
except if end-of-cycle incidents occur," the firm said. One of
those incidents could be weather. Some areas of Brazil are
receiving less-than-normal rainfall, although many others are
receiving normal amounts.
Risk Factor: Corn futures may be particularly susceptible to any
change in the Fed's approach toward inflation because of the
sizable long position held in corn by managed money funds, said
Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. "The biggest risk is outside
market influence as there is a historically large speculative long
in the corn that may head for the sidelines if Fed policy shifts to
a less inflationary approach," Mr. Bergman said. According to the
CFTC, funds are net long in corn by nearly 367,000 contracts.
Flex: Brazil is about to commence harvesting a new crop of
soybeans, but it still has plenty of old crop left to sell into the
export market, Karl Setzer of AgriVisor said. "For the month of
November, Brazil exported 2.6 million metric tons of soybeans, more
than trade was expecting," he said. "Larger production has allowed
for these sales to continue. Given the forecast for this year's
crop to be even larger, Brazil will likely become a perpetual
soybean exporter from this point forward."
AHEAD
--The USDA will release its weekly export inspections report at
11 a.m. ET Monday.
--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks
report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
--The USDA will release its monthly WASDE report at noon ET
Thursday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 03, 2021 16:01 ET (21:01 GMT)
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