In the overnight session the grains traded higher again with corn up 2 cents, soybeans up 7 cents and wheat trading up 7 1/2 cents this morning. Yesterday there was talk that China purchased 233,000 metric tons of wheat which was seen as a positive sign for the grain. The origin of the grain is unclear but traders suspect Australia and U.S. wheat are the most likely. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of wheat, but currently faces a need for high-protein wheat. Japan also purchased 122,770 metric tons of food-quality wheat from the United States in a tender closing on Thursday.
Yesterday’s rally brought soybeans off of the low side of the range it has been trading in since late October. The rally was primarily driven by short covering after four straight days of selling. It was further fueled by an export sale to China for 233,000 metric tons of soybeans and concerns of dryness in Brazil’s north eastern growing area. Recently, weather models have turned drier over the next 15 days causing traders to monitor this region more closely. This morning another reportable export sale of 243,000 metric tons delivered to China was announced.
Export inspections were released yesterday showing wheat and soybeans met analyst expectations with 352,829 metric tons and 1,406,496 metric tons respectively. Corn inspections came in below the estimates reporting only 538,945 metric tons inspected for export. Analyst guesses ranged from 675,000-800,000 metric tons for corn.
Informa Economics will release its January crop estimate at 10:30 AM CST this morning.
