Grains continued to mark time with limited movements, awaiting USDA’s latest supply and demand forecasts out later this morning. In outside markets the US dollar continued to strengthen hitting its highest point in 7 months.
This morning USDA announced a 115,000 MT sale of soybeans to China. Traders will look for guidance from USDA’s crop report out at 11 am this morning. The trade is looking for a dip in corn yield from 174.4 last month to 173.5 this month, while soybean yields are expected to be higher hitting 51.5 versus 50.6 last month.
Australia is expected to harvest a near-record wheat crop in 2016/17, but recent heavy rains may lead to quality downgrades and curb exports. Analysts expect a crop of 28.35 MMT just above Australia's most recent official estimate of 28.1 MMT made in September. The bumper crop, which would be the second highest on record behind a near-30 million tonnes in 2010/11, follows good growing weather early in the season, but faces risks from soaking east-coast rains and unseasonably cold weather in Western Australia.
OPEC reported an increase in oil production in September to the highest in at least eight years and raised its forecast for 2017 non-OPEC supply growth, pointing to a larger surplus next year despite the group's deal to cut output. OPEC pumped 33.39 million barrels per day last month, up 220,000 bpd from August. The figures underline OPEC's challenge in seeking to restrain supplies for the first time since 2008 to curb a persistent supply glut and prop up prices.
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