In the overnight session the grains were mixed with December corn up ¼ cent, November soybeans down ¾ of a cent and December Chicago wheat unchanged. Rains over the weekend slowed harvest throughout the Central Midwest with precipitation in Eastern Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Precipitation is expected to continue east into eastern Illinois and Indiana. The forecast over the next five days is for precipitation to continue delaying field work over the eastern grain belt.
The market is waiting for the USDA to release its latest crop progress report after the market closes Monday afternoon. Analysts are expecting soybean harvest to be around 70 percent complete and corn harvest to move to 42-43 percent complete. Corn and Soybean basis was unchanged on the week, but the delays in harvest have some feedlots and ethanol facilities increasing their basis in Nebraska and South Dakota by as much as 10 cents.
The Cattle on Feed report that was released on Friday bearish for the most part. All cattle on feed as of October 1st was 105 percent of last year which was above the 104.6 percent that the trade was expecting. Cattle placed on feed in September was 113 percent, compared to the 108 percent expected by the market. Marketings continue to be strong however, with 103 percent marketed, beating the average analyst guess of 102.6 percent.
In the latest Commitments of Traders report the total net short positions held by managed money increased by 7,747 positions from last week. The net position held by managed money for soybeans increased its length by 37,176 last week to 68,168.
The risk of trading futures, hedging, and speculating can be substantial. Grain Hedge is a Branch of Foremost Trading LLC (NFA ID: 0307930)
