Grains were weaker overnight as soybeans and wheat fell by around 5 cents, while corn hovered around the unchanged mark in the night session. Outside markets continued to adjust to the interest rate hike announced yesterday by the Fed, as the US dollar continued to strengthen, S&P futures rallied and crude oil sunk to fresh lows.
Argentina will let their currency float starting today, setting the stage for a large devaluation in their currency and bring on active farmer selling there. In other monetary news, the US dollar hit a two-week high against a basket of major rivals on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and signaled four more hikes are to come next year.
In overnight news, Japan bought 124,000 MT of food quality wheat from the US and Canada in their regular tender. The US accounted for 94,000 MT of the deal. A South Korea feed maker bought 195,000 MT of optional origin corn overnight.
French consultancy Strategie Grains on Thursday pegged the 2016 EU corn crop at 64.9 MMT up 13% from last year’s short crop, while wheat is expected to come in at 143.6 MMT off 4% from last year.
Crude oil continues to be pressured by oversupply issues. Weekly inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed an increase of 4.8 million barrels of crude oil stocks. Analysts polled expected the agency to report that crude-oil inventories fell 1.4 million barrels last week.
WEEKLY EXPORT SALES
Actual Expected
Corn 579 700-950
Soybeans 887 900-1,300
Wheat 320 250-450
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