Grains were Subdued in the Overnight

Grains were subdued overnight as wheat and corn drifted slightly down and soybeans went into the morning break mostly unchanged. In outside markets, crude oil continued to sink following yesterday’s sharp sell-off and equity futures gave up some of yesterday’s robust gains.

USDA reported exporters sell 330,000 tonnes of US Soybeans to China including 66,000 tonnes for 2016/17 delivery and 264,000 tonnes for 2017/18. Also this morning, exporters sell 136,000 tonnes US Soybeans to unknown destinations for 2016/17 delivery.

Palm oil lost ground overnight in a corrective move, while China soybeans were up 17 cents overnight. China continues to see limited imports of DDGS from the US which is helping fuel the demand for soymeal in livestock feed rations.

A group of Israeli private buyers has issued international tenders to purchase 95,000 MT of corn, 30,000 MT of feed barley and 10,000 MT of sorghum, all of optional origins. USDA will release their Dec crop report on Friday with little changes expected to the balance sheet.

Weather in South America shows beneficial rains on the horizon in Brazil. But Argentina looks dry for the next 10 days. However, temperatures are expected to be seasonally mild but temps are expected to heat up late in this forecast period. In the 11 to 15 day outlook the latest model runs show more precip is likely. The longer term forecast of 16 to 30 day shows wetter conditions for Argentina.

Oil prices slipped on Wednesday on doubts production cuts promised by OPEC and Russia would be deep enough to end a supply overhang that has weighed on markets for more than two years. This week’s API report showed the second consecutive week of crude inventory draws that exceeded expert predictions. The report estimates a 2.21 million barrel drop in inventories, as opposed to the 1.37 million barrel decline expected by analysts.

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—Kevin McNew