On Monday, agricultural futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed with mixed results, as corn and soybean prices rose while wheat prices fell.
The most active corn contract for December delivery rose 2.5 cents, or 0.54 percent, to settle at 4.695 U.S. dollars per bushel. Meanwhile, March wheat fell 5.25 cents, or 0.91 percent, to settle at 5.705 dollars per bushel, and January soybean soared 27 cents, or 2.01 percent, to settle at 13.6725 dollars per bushel.
Traders in the CBOT market operated cautiously due to thin volume as a result of pre-holiday U.S. trade. Limited resting orders are expected to influence market movement in the coming days.
In light of the down market, farmers in the United States, Brazil, and Argentina are holding off on selling corn and wheat. Research company AgResource, based in Chicago, believes that the grain markets are reaching a low point.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that an additional 104,000 metric tons of U.S. corn were sold to Mexico.
U.S. weekly export inspections for the week ending Nov. 16 totaled 59.1 million bushels of soybeans, 21.8 million bushels of corn, and 13.1 million bushels of wheat.
Year-to-date, the United States has exported 584 million bushels of soybeans, a decrease of 8 percent from the previous year; 268 million bushels of corn, an increase of 24 percent; and 287 million bushels of wheat, a decrease of 32 percent.
The recent presidential election in Argentina has resulted in Javier Milei’s victory. As a result, Argentine farmers are unlikely to make any new cash sales until the new government’s policy for the country’s grain industry is clearer.
Weather conditions in Brazil are currently drier in the north and wetter in the south. This pattern is expected to continue, with a high-pressure ridge across Northern Brazil and a low-pressure trough across Southern Brazil returning next week. As a result, Northern Brazil will likely experience a need for more rain, while Southern Brazil will struggle with seeding spring crops.
