In the overnight session corn is down 3/4 of a penny, soybeans are up a cent and wheat is up 3 1/4 cents. The dollar is trading slightly higher this morning, now hovering at 97.640 while crude oil is trading down nearly a percent after news that OPEC’s production in March added to the burgeoning global supply.
Wheat prices have suffered this week from beneficial rains to the plains region. Precipitation should expand into the central plains over the weekend bringing an expected .5-2 inches of rain to 80 percent of the wheat belt. The improvement in the weather, coupled with yesterday’s disappointing export sales provides little fundamental support for the grain going into the weekend.
The Russian Agricultural Ministry recently proposed to end the export tax on Russian wheat after July 1st. The decision will be voted on in either May or June after this year’s crop yield becomes clearer. Also on the international front, the Ethiopian government has issued an international tender to purchase 400,000 metric tons of milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins. Traders are waiting on the results of that tender.
