Closing Comments - by Jordan Dvorak
Markets were firmer today with Corn up 6 in o/c and 3 on
n/c, Beans up 27 on o/c and up 13 on nc, ww up 22 sw up 7. US dollar was
weaker crude up almost 2 bucks and DOW down up 25 points.
All around good day in the markets today with strength being
attributed to frost/freeze damage in the southern wheat belt. Still very
few planters rolling in the eastern corn belt with recent rains but they are
close to firing up. Talk that Northern China is getting dry and could be
hurting their corn crop. This could be a long term bullish factor to watch.
China is the second largest producer of corn in the world. Corn Harvest in
Argentina is said to be close to 25% complete. Forecasts still showing chances
of rain in the US a week out. With most of the US’s corn getting planted
in May now this could be a cause for some more planting delays. Flooding
concerns still along the Mississippi and the Red River in ND and MN. USDA
announced a NC sale of corn to China today and another sale to unknown
Beans rallied on strong sales of meal again this week.
we are at a negative now on weekly sales required of meal for the year.
Soybeans themselves saw net cancelations this week, with China canceling a big
chunk. Bean movement seems pretty slow still with the domestic crushers
being the market to sell to right now.
Wheat was probably the big leader today with frost and
drought as the booming stories today. The wheat tour will start next week
and hopefully we will get a better grasp of the damage in our major wheat
producing states. We have to keep in mind that the US has large stocks of
wheat from last year and even if we have minor issues down south this year does
not guarantee us going to $10 or more. ND and south still have a lot of
SW in the bins and from more than one year ago. All of this stuff is
going to have to make a move sometime. Today was the first day in a long
time there was some wheat being priced in the country.
Birdseed side still seems steady with end users pulling
product off of application and not replacing the purchases too quickly.
Always seems like there is 1 guy looking to buy from 2 people looking to
sell. With another couple weeks of planting ahead of us how many
Sunflower will move? Will the end users need to bid this thing up a
little bit to get you guys to take your eyes off of planting or will they sit
and wait patiently? Only time will tell I guess. I think if we see a
dollar or two rally in SFLs we will see a lot of pounds start moving.
Warm weather this weekend should get guys going in the field very soon.
Thanks
Jordan Dvorak
Grain Procurement
Midwest Cooperatives