In the overnight session the grains were mixed again with corn down 2 cents, soybeans up 1 3/4 cents and wheat in Chicago up 3 cents. The NOPA crush numbers will be released at 11 AM CST this morning which is expected to show a record amount of soybeans crushed for the month of March. Analysts are expecting March soybean crush to be reported at 155.261 million bushels with a range of estimates from 150.5 to 159.5 million bushels. In the same poll conducted by Reuters the average guess for soyoil stocks was 1.383 billion pounds. Estimates for soyoil stocks ranged from 1.275 to 1.463 billion pounds of oil on hand.
A few wheat tenders were reported in the overnight session which helped to support wheat prices after two days of selling. In a tender that closed Wednesday, the Taiwan Flour Millers Association purchased 85,710 metric tons of hard milling wheat sourced from the United States. Jordan’s state grain buyer issued a tender to purchase 100,000 metric tons of optional origin hard milling wheat.
An announcement out of Russia also helped support wheat prices this morning with Russian Agriculture Minister announcing that there is no reason to cancel the wheat export tax ahead of schedule. The tax is set to expire on June 30th and the ministry has made no decision yet on whether or not to extend the tax.
This morning the U.S dollar is continuing higher, up nearly 1/2 a percent which should put some pressure on commodities. Oil is trading higher as well, but currently trades near the 100 day moving average which may act as a resistance level to any attempt at a rally.
