1. Grains go down, soybeans are higher in the night trade
Grains were lower overnight, while soybeans were higher as investors weighed favorable Midwest weather against signs of demand.
Rainfall is expected today in parts of the Dakotas and Nebraska, which will likely give a boost to maturing crops.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, about 29% of the US corn crop was silky as of last week, while 3% was in the dough stage. 69% were in good or excellent condition.
USDA will update its weekly harvest progress report this afternoon.
Meanwhile, on the demand front, US exporters have reported strong soy and corn sales in the past two weeks, mainly because China made large purchases.
Exporters said an unidentified country purchased 126,000 metric tons of soybeans to deliver in the marketing year that begins September 1.
On Thursday, the USDA reported sales of 522,000 metric tons of soybeans to China to deliver in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 marketing years. The government also reported sales of 351,000 metric tons of U.S. beans to an unknown country.
Corn futures for December delivery fell 2 ¢ to $ 3.37 per bushel overnight at the Chicago Board of Trade.
Wheat futures for September delivery fell 3½ ¢ to $ 5.31¼ per bushel, while Kansas City futures lost 1½ ¢ to $ 4.47¼ per bushel.
Soybean futures for December delivery rose 4¼ ¢ to $ 8.99¼ per bushel overnight. Soybean meal fell 40 ¢ to $ 293.70 per short ton, and soybean oil increased 0.41 ¢ to 30.95 ¢ per pound.
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2. Speculators cut bullish bean bets, leave corn positions virtually unchanged
Money managers reduced their long net positions, or higher price bets, on soybeans amid the resurgence of COVID-19 while leaving bearish positions on corn almost unchanged week-to-week, according to the US Trade Commission Commodity Futures.
Investors in the seven days ending July 14 held a long net position of 63,678 soybean futures contracts, the CFTC said in a report. That’s less than 90,618 contracts the week before.
Speculators maintained a net short position, or bet on lower prices, of 148,786 corn futures contracts last week, the agency said. That’s slightly lower than the 150,338 contracts signed a week earlier and the smallest position since April 14.
The coronavirus has returned in recent weeks, raising questions about the demand for raw materials. Several states have seen an increase in cases and hospitalizations, as have several countries, which have led to renewed closure measures.
In wheat, investors had a net short position of 6,517 soft red winter-winter contracts as of July 14, up from 32,370 contracts the previous week. That’s the smallest bearish position in the grain since May 12, government data shows.
Speculators held a net short position in winter hard red wheat of 25,263 futures contracts last week, down from 34,003 the previous week. That’s the smallest bearish position in the hard red winter futures since July 9, the CFTC said in its report.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Trader Engagement report shows traders’ positions in the futures markets.
The report provides positions held by commercial traders, or those who use futures to hedge their physical assets; non-commercial traders, or money managers (also called big speculators); and not reportable, or little speculators.
A long net position indicates that more traders are betting on higher prices, while a short net position means that more will be the betting futures that will decrease.
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3. Storms are expected in Nebraska and South Dakota, while triple-digit heat is seen further south
Strong thunderstorms are expected in parts of Nebraska and South Dakota today, while triple-digit heat is forecast in southern Illinois and Missouri, according to the National Weather Service.
In northern Nebraska and southern South Dakota, there are possibilities of large hail, strong winds and heavy precipitation today, the NWS said in a report early this morning.
“The storms scattered across north-central Nebraska continue to move southeast toward central Nebraska” this morning, the agency said. “Moderate to heavy rains and lightning are the main concerns with these storms.”
Meanwhile, in southern Illinois and Missouri, triple-digit heat rates are expected, which are likely to continue throughout the week.
Along with the heat, there is also a chance of thunderstorms in the region throughout the week, the NWS said.
