Crude Oil Down this Morning Following Sharp Sell Off

Grains were lower heading into the morning break with spring wheat continuing its leader role with nearly double-digit losses. Crude oil was also down following yesterday’s sharp sell-off.

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Private consultant Strategie Grains cut its forecast for the EU wheat crop to 141.6 MMT, down 1.1 MMT from last month, but still 4% above the 136.1 MMT in 2016, when output was curbed by a poor French crop. For corn, they noted a slight cutback of 0.1 MMT to 60 MMT which would be unchanged from last year. But they noted the weather is set to remain dry in most of the primary corn growing countries and the condition of the crop could deteriorate rapidly.

In international deals, the Korea Feed Association (KFA) purchased about 65,000 MT of corn to be sourced from optional origins in a tender that closed on Thursday. South Korea's Korea Corn Processing Industry Association (KOCOPIA) also purchased about 60,000 MT of corn to be sourced from optional origins in a tender that closed on Thursday. Meanwhile, Japan bought 162,000 MT of wheat, of which 98,500 MT was from the US.

Weekly Export Sales-

Crude futures edged lower again Thursday, following sharp declines in the prior session, but investor sentiment continued to be battered by data showing that the market remains awash in surplus oil. On Thursday, oil prices tanked by nearly 4% to their lowest level since November, following U.S. Energy Information Administration data that showed the decrease in crude stockpiles last week was smaller than anticipated. Compounding the woes was the unexpected increase in gasoline stocks, surprising many traders and analysts who expected much of the excess gasoline to be mopped up during the U.S. summer driving season. Data show gasoline demand has fallen for three weeks straight.

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