On Monday, Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures experienced an overall increase, with soybean leading the rise.
The March delivery corn contract saw a 1.5 cent increase, settling at 4.305 U.S. dollars per bushel. Additionally, March wheat rose by 0.75 cents to settle at 5.975 dollars per bushel. March soybean also gained 9.5 cents, reaching 11.93 dollars per bushel.
The rise in corn and wheat futures can be attributed to short covering in extremely slow volume. The smaller market volume has made it easier to influence the markets, especially with South America and Southeast Asia being on holiday.
There is a six-cent positive spread for June/July Brazilian soybeans, indicating that the Brazilian soybean crop may be below the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimate. Chicago-based research company AgResource predicts that soyoil will outperform soymeal in the event of a market correction.
The U.S. weekly grain inspections for the week ending February 8 showed the export of 34.6 million bushels of corn, 48.7 million bushels of soybeans, and 15 million bushels of wheat.
For the respective crop years, the United States has exported 676.6 million bushels of corn, a 31 percent increase from the previous year; 1,130 million bushels of soybeans, a 23 percent decrease; and 430.3 million bushels of wheat, an 18 percent decrease.
Brazilian soybean farm association Aprosoja estimates the 2024 Brazilian soybean crop to be in the range of 130 to 135 million metric tons, which is the lowest projection among the Brazilian private soybean crop forecasts.
In the upcoming two weeks, Argentina and Southern Brazil are expected to experience slightly drier conditions. However, normal rainfall is anticipated in Northern and Central Brazil. Despite the lack of heat, crop yields are expected to respond favorably.
