At the close:
At the close, the May corn futures settled 1 1/4¢ lower at $3.33 3/4. July corn futures ended 1/4¢ lower at $3.38 1/4.
May soybean futures closed 4¢ lower at $8.58 3/4. July soybean futures finished 3 1/4¢ lower at $8.64.
May wheat futures ended 8 1/2¢ lower at $5.41 1/4.
May soymeal futures closed $5.80 per short ton lower at $309.10.
May soy oil futures are $0.19 cents higher at 26.24¢ per pound.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $5.05 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 99 points higher.
Mike
-----------
At midsession:
At midsession, the May corn futures are 2 1/2¢ higher at $3.37 3/4. July corn futures are 2 1/4¢ higher at $3.41 1/4.
May soybean futures are 1 1/2¢ higher at $8.64 3/4. July soybean futures are 1 3/4¢ higher at $8.69.
May wheat futures are 5 1/2¢ lower at $5.44 1/4.
May soymeal futures are $3.70 per short ton lower at $311.20.
May soy oil futures are $0.34 cents higher at 26.39¢ per pound.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $4.92 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 373 points higher.
Jack Scoville, PRICE Futures Group, says that the grains are following the crude oil higher.
“The news that President Trump had spoken to the Saudis and the Russians and that they had agreed to cut back on crude production is the driving force here today. It appears to be rallying everything else. Stocks are up as well on the news. So is sugar. Wheat is lower, as Russia decided to release more wheat from reserves rather than impose some sort of an embargo on further sales. But, corn acts fine and should hopefully get some stability with the news. Corn is helping to support the beans a bit, as well," Scoville says.
Mike & Quinn
--------------
At 8:45am:
EIA released weekly ethanol production numbers, yesterday.
"According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production plummeted 16.4%, or 165,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 840,000 b/d, the lowest level in six and a half years. The decline was the largest since the EIA began reporting ethanol production statistics in 2010. The four-week average ethanol production rate declined 5.8% to 981,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 15.04 billion gallons."
----------------
At 8:45am:
In early trading, the May corn futures are 1 1/2¢ higher at $3.36 3/4. July corn futures are 1 1/4¢ higher at $3.40 1/4.
May soybean futures are 2 1/2¢ lower at $8.60 3/4. July soybean futures are 2 1/2¢ lower at $8.64 1/4.
May wheat futures are 7 3/4¢ lower at $5.42 1/4.
May soymeal futures are $0.90 per short ton lower at $314.00.
May soy oil futures are $0.01 cents higher at 26.06¢ per pound.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $1.76 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 51 points higher.
On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department released its Weekly Jobless Claims report that showed Americans are losing their jobs at a breakneck speed.
For the week ending March 28, U.S. jobless claims totaled 6.64 million, double the prior week's record amount of 3.3 million.
Separately, the USDA’s Weekly Export Sales Report Thursday shows strong corn demand figures.
Corn= 1.27 million metric tons vs. the trade’s expectations of between 800,000-1.20 mmt.
Soybeans= 1.07 mmt. vs. trade’s expectations of 375,000-1.0 mmt.
Wheat= 258,800 mt. the trade’s expectations of between 350,000-850,000 mt.
Soybean meal= 141,100 mt. the trade’s expectations of 150,000-350,000mt.
Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says that it is all about the COVID-19 coronavirus right now.
"We have very little (if any) friendly news to trade on, and the longer the COVID-19 pandemic lasts, the longer the recovery will last. Investors are nervous to put their money anywhere until we start seeing new COVID-19 cases peak out," Kluis told customers in a daily note.
Kluis added, "The corn market is going to struggle until Saudi Arabia and Russia stop the price war on crude oil--or we start seeing strong ethanol exports."
Mike
--------
