Grains were listless overnight showing no directional bias in light trade. In outside markets, crude oil pushed higher as did US equity futures and the US dollar.
China's soymeal futures jumped to a five-month high on Tuesday amid talk that environmental regulators have launched a crackdown on 3 plants in one of the nation's largest crushing regions, fueling concerns about supplies as stocks dwindle. They are expected to be closed one to two weeks.
France's farm ministry on Tuesday estimated the area sown with winter soft wheat for the 2017 harvest at 5.2 million hectares, up 0.2 percent compared with this year. A group of animal feed makers in the Philippines has issued an international tender to purchase up to 56,000 tonnes of feed wheat to be sourced from Australia or the Black Sea region.
China appears ready to resume corn exports for the first time in around a decade as farmers turn to cheaper sorghum for animal feed and corn stockpiles grow at home. Beijing granted export permits in September to at least two companies, including state grain concern Cofco. Some 2 million tons are expected to be shipped out for the time being. China is said to be holding one year’s worth of production in excess storage.
Fed policymakers begin meeting today in what is expected to lead to an interest rate hike on Wednesday’s announcement. Traders, however, will be looking for clues in the Fed statement about what might happen to rates going forward in 2017.
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