1. Grain and Soybean Futures Little Revealed Overnight
Corn and wheat futures were little changed overnight while soybean futures were slightly lower as investors square positions ahead of tomorrow’s reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Among other things, several reports are due to be released tomorrow, including the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
The USDA likely will peg stockpiles of corn at 1.472 billion bushels in tomorrow’s grain stocks report, down from the December outlook for 1.493 billion, according to a poll by Reuters.
Soybean inventories are expected at about 348 million bushels, up from the previous month’s outlook for 340 million bushels, and wheat stockpiles are forecast at 608 million bushels, up from 598 million in December, the news agency reported.
The government is expected say that corn stockpiles as of Dec. 1 were 11.6 Billion bushels. Soybean inventories are forecast to be around 3.13 Billion bushels and wheat in storage at 1.42 Billion bushels according to the poll.
Signs of demand are influencing prices.
On Monday, 132,000 metric tons corn was sold to Mexico by exporters. This followed sales of 176.784 tons to Mexico, which were announced Friday by the USDA.
The USDA also announced Friday that China purchased 120,000 metric tonnes of soybeans to be delivered in the 2022-2023 marketing years.
Corn futures for March delivery rose 1½¢ to $6.01¼ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Soybean futures for March delivery fell 4¢ to $13.80¾ a bushel. Soymeal dropped $1.90 to $414.40 a short ton and soy oil rose 0.28¢ to 58.31¢ a pound.
Wheat futures for March delivery rose ¼¢ to $7.62¼ a bushel, while Kansas City futures gained 1¢ to $7.79¼ a bushel.
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2. Weekly Corn and Wheat Export Inspections Increased
According to the USDA, inspections of corn for overseas delivery increased and wheat assessments narrowly rose in the seven days ending January 6.
According to a report by the agency, corn inspections totaled 1.02 Million metric tons last week.
That’s up from 759,563 metric tons a week earlier, but down from the 1.35 million tons assessed during the same week a year earlier.
The government reported that U.S. wheat was being examined for offshore delivery at 233,159 metric tonnes, compared to 230,361 tons the week before. That’s still down from 281,356 tons a year earlier.
The USDA reported that inspections of soybeans were reported at 905,149 tonnes, a decrease from 1.61 Million Tonnes a week earlier, and well below the 1.91 Million Tonnes assessed in the same week 2021.
The agency has inspected 14.1 Million Metre Tons of Corn for Delivery Overseas since September 1, when the marketing year began. This is a decrease from the 16.6 Million Tons that were inspected in the same time frame last year.
The agency reported that soybean assessments have fallen to 31.6 million metric tonnes from 41.1million tons last year.
Wheat inspections since the start of the grain’s marketing year on June 1 now stand at 12.4 million metric tons, down from 15.3 million tons assessed at the same point last year, the USDA said in its report.
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3. Southern Plains: Dry Weather Causes Fire Conditions
According to the National Weather Service, dry weather will increase wildfire risk in some parts of the Southern Plains today.
According to the NWS, winds will continue to gust between 15 and 20 mph with stronger gusts.
Relative humidity can fall to 15%, creating tinderbox-like environments.
The dry weather will continue with “extreme fire-weather conditions” expected Friday in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, the agency said.
In eastern Iowa and northern Illinois, meanwhile, wind chills are expected to drop to almost -20°F., the NWS said.
This afternoon, south winds will reach up to 35 mph.
Starting tomorrow, there’s a chance for freezing drizzle in the morning and light snow is possible Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the agency said.
Source: Successful Farming
