Grains found strength for the 2nd day in a row as short covering after a steep slide continues to help lift prices. In outside markets, US jobs grew at a slower rate than expected, pushing the US dollar lower.
USDA’s industrial grain use reports were released yesterday after the close. For soybeans, July crush was at 153.4 MB, just slightly above average expectations going into the report. For corn,
USDA estimated fuel alcohol use of corn at 455.4 MB, up from 448.4 MB a year ago.
In India, low stocks of wheat are likely to drive the country to buy wheat in the global market. So far in 2016 they have bought 600,000 MT of wheat, the most in nine years. The last time it bought more was in 2006, when surprise purchases of close to 7 million tonnes, combined with production problems elsewhere, helped fuel a near 50 percent rally in global prices. There is some speculation that the government may reduce or eliminate the 25% wheat import tariff.
August jobs data showed payroll numbers rose by 151,000, below forecasts of 180,000 and the July number of 275,000. This may push Fed interest rate hikes down the road as job growth is expected to be a key indicator for /near-term Fed interest rate policies.
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