Grains were mostly lower led by soybeans which suffered double-digit losses going into the morning break. Wheat was in positive territory thanks to cold temps threatening the US wheat crop.
Argentina weather materialized as expected with 45% coverage in rain over the weekend. And the 5-day forecast looks to get 70% coverage. Even all the way out to the 16-30 day forecast, the weather models showed more rain for Argentina in the latest runs versus what they were showing on Friday. In Brazil, there is only limited dryness in about 10% of the crop growing area but overall conditions are nearly ideal. On Friday SAFRAS private consultant put the bean forecast at 106 MMT, well above 102 to 103 by most analysts.
Meanwhile, the arctic blast that swept across the US over the weekend may have caused some damage to as much as half of the winter wheat crop. This put a small bid under wheat overnight.
In export news, importers from the Philippines purchased an unknown volume of milling wheat and feed wheat from Australia in an international tender that closed on Wednesday.
Oil prices fell on Monday as a stronger dollar off-set the delay of new Libyan oil exports, amid expectations of tighter crude supply going into 2017. On Friday, Baker Hughes US oil rig count added 12 rigs in the week to Dec. 16, bringing the total count to 510, the highest since January, though still below 541 rigs a year ago.
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