In the overnight session the grains continued lower with corn down 2 ½ cents, soybeans down 2 cents and wheat down 5 cents going into this morning’s pause in trading. Crude oil is also trading lower and the U.S. dollar is up a fraction of a percent.
Yesterday’s WASDE report provided a small surprises for the market with both corn and soybean ending stocks revised lower, but funds responded to the news by selling 7,000 contracts of corn, 7,000 contracts of soybeans and 6,000 contracts of wheat. Traders will begin to turn their attention toward spring planted acreage expectations and continue to focus on South American production.
Yesterday, Corn ending stocks were revised 50 million bushels lower from January’s report to 1.827 billion bushels. The current stocks to use ratio is now 13.38 percent. The adjustments to the balance sheet were primarily made up of an increase in corn used for ethanol by 75 million bushels. Ethanol production has been running well ahead of pace increasing 5.6 percent year over year compared January WASDE expectations of a .8 percent increase.
Soybean ending stocks declined 25 million bushels from the January report to 385 million bushels. Both export sales and crushings increased in February’s by 20 million bushels and 15 million bushels respectively.
U.S. wheat ending stocks increased 5 million bushels to 692 million bushels which was slightly more than analysts expected. Export sales were revised lower by 25 million bushels which was mostly offset by a 20 million bushel decline in imports. Global wheat stocks also increased to 197.85 million metric tons, compared to expectations of 195.83 MMT.
Also in the news this morning is talks that Egypt is negotiating with Russia to be exempted from the wheat export tariffs that Russia established early this year.
