In the overnight session the grains were mostly steady with March corn unchanged, January soybeans up ¼ of a penny and March Chicago Wheat down ½ of a cent. January soybeans pushed through November 14th lows yesterday after precipitation over the weekend and expectations for more rain later on this week pulled prices lower. The market will continue to focus on South American weather in the coming weeks.
Safras & Mercado a Brazilian consultancy lowered their 2017-18 Brazilian soybean production estimate to 114.57 million metric tons from 114.7 million metric tons in October. The revision was due to a slight decline in soybean acreage. The current USDA forecast estimates Brazil’s 2016-17 production at 114.10 million metric tons after a near perfect growing season.
In an Iraqi tender to purchase 50,000 metric tons of hard milling wheat the U.S wheat was the most competitively priced at $283.73 per metric ton. The tender was offered to Canada, Australia and the US and closed on Tuesday. Australian wheat was offered at $288.80 per metric ton and Canadian wheat was offered at $295 per metric ton.
Domestic wheat prices are focusing on the cold weather expected in the last week of December. Traders are concerned that the delayed planting and dry weather could leave the crop exposed and more vulnerable than normal to a cold snap.
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