Floor Talk, February 13, 2020

[marketeye]

At the close:

At the close, the March corn futures finished 3 1/2¢ lower at $3.79 1/2. May corn futures closed 2 1/2¢ lower at $3.84 3/4.

March soybean futures settled 3 3/4¢ higher at $8.96 1/4. May soybean futures finished 2 1/2¢ higher at $9.06.

March wheat futures closed 3 1/4¢ lower at $5.44 1/4.



March soymeal futures ended $0.20 per short ton higher at $291.90.

 March soy oil futures finished $0.31 cents lower at 30.72¢ per pound.



In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $0.27 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 51 points lower.

Mike

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At midsession:

At midsession, the March corn futures are 2¢ lower at $3.80. May corn futures are 2 1/4¢ lower at $3.85.

March soybean futures are 6 1/2¢ higher at $8.99. May soybean futures are 4¢ higher at $9.07 1/4.

March wheat futures are 4 1/4¢ lower at $5.42 3/4.



March soymeal futures are $1.20 per short ton higher at $292.90.

 March soy oil futures are $0.35 cents lower at 30.68¢ per pound.



In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $0.24 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 72 points lower.

Mike

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At 9am:

USDA's Weekly Export Sales Report Thursday shows strong corn and wheat demand figures.

Corn= 968,800 metric tons vs. the trade’s expectations of between 700,000-1.4 mmt.

Soybeans= 651,100 metric tons vs. trade’s expectations of 600,000-1.1 mmt.

Wheat= 687,100 mt. the trade’s expectations of between 300,000-700,000 mt.

Soybean meal= 234,200 mt. the trade’s expectations of 100,000-400,000mt.

And, here's the breakdown for soybean sales:

Net sales of 644,800 MT for 2019/2020 were down 8 percent from the previous week, but up 2 percent from the prior 4-week average.

Increases primarily for China (132,000 MT), Egypt (120,000 MT), Bangladesh (60,900 MT, including 56,000 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 1,100 MT), the Netherlands (56,000 MT, including 60,000 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 4,000 MT), and Japan (48,400 MT, including 29,700 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 1,200 MT), were offset by reductions for Costa Rica (100 MT).

For 2020/2021, net sales of 6,300 MT were for Japan (6,100 MT) and Hong Kong (200 MT). Exports of 611,300 MT were down 58 percent from the previous week and 50 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Bangladesh (85,900 MT), Mexico (73,000 MT), China (69,000 MT), the Netherlands (56,000 MT), and Taiwan (50,800 MT).

Mike

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At 8:45am:

In early trading, the March corn futures are 2¢ lower at $3.81. May corn futures are 2 1/4¢ lower at $3.85.

March soybean futures are 4¢ higher at $8.96. May soybean futures are 2 1/4¢ higher at $9.06 1/4.

March wheat futures are 1/4¢ lower at $5.47.



March soymeal futures are $2.00 per short ton higher at $293.70.

March soy oil futures are $0.43 cents lower at 30.60¢ per pound.



In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil market is $0.35 per barrel higher, the U.S. dollar is higher, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 131 points lower.

Al Kluis, Kluis Advisors, says that the markets are leaning on bull spreads.

“The bull spreads are working. That suggests we could see some higher prices coming. We hear talk that China is looking for soybeans bids off the PNW. That helped support grain prices. If China steps in to buy grain from the US, then that could be what the market needs to get jump-started. Supplies are getting tight in China; domestic prices there are pretty high for corn and soybeans,” Kluis stated in a daily note to customers.

Kluis added, "Yesterday, crude oil shrugged off some negative news from the EIA numbers. That will be positive for all commodities moving forward."

Mike

[rickgthf]

The export sales aren't all that good.  Is there a rumor floating around that explains it?