DTN Closing Grain Comments

General Comments:

Corn was down 2 cents in the July contract and down 2 1/4 cents in the December. Soybeans were down 8 3/4 cents in the July contract and down 8 3/4 cents in the November. Wheat closed down 1 3/4 cents in the July Chicago contract, down 1 1/2 cents in the July Kansas City and up 1 1/4 cents in the July Minneapolis contract.

The June U.S. dollar index is up 0.05 at 97.19. June gold is up $2.10 at $1,255.20 while July silver is up 5 cents and July copper is up $0.0145. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 72 at 21,084. July crude oil is down $2.46 at $48.90. July heating oil is down $0.0489 while July RBOB gasoline is down $0.0401 and July natural gas is down $0.033.

CORN:

July corn closed down 2 cents Thursday, still showing little sign of wanting to leave the familiar prices of its sideways range while corn planting remains a concern in 2017. Heavy rain fell overnight in Indiana and Ohio and more rain is expected from around the Delta and Ohio River Valley this weekend -- two areas that don't need more moisture. Early Thursday, USDA said last week's export sales and shipments of corn totaled 18.0 million bushels and 41.4 mb respectively, a neutral showing that has total corn shipments up 45% in 2016-17 from a year ago. USDA later said 4.5 mb (115,400 metric tons) of U.S. corn were also sold to unknown for 2016-17. While the demand side of the market and planting concerns both remain supportive factors, July corn prices remain stuck in neutral with support at the April low of $3.61 3/4. DTN's National Corn Index closed at $3.34 Wednesday, priced 37 cents below the July contract and down from its highest price in eleven weeks. In outside markets, July crude oil is trading down $2.46 a barrel after Bloomberg news and other sources reported OPEC agreed to extend its production cuts another nine months but not go any deeper.

SOYBEANS:

July soybeans closed down 8 3/4 cents at their lowest finish in over a year, pressured by noncommercial selling and ongoing concerns that soybeans will somehow find a way to achieve record plantings in 2017. Conditions in the eastern Midwest are still too wet in many areas and will be a challenge, but as with corn, traders are reluctant to anticipate problems after experiencing four consecutive years of bear markets. Early Thursday, USDA said last week's export sales and shipments of soybeans totaled 17.4 mb and 12.3 mb respectively, a neutral-to-bullish combination that has total soybean sales and shipments in 2016-17 already 75 mb higher than USDA's export estimate with 15 weeks remaining. While U.S. soybean exports have done well this year, crush activity has been slightly lower and the July/August soybean spread has not recovered from last Thursday's real-related hit. July soybeans have resumed their downtrend with Thursday's new one-year low. DTN's National Soybean Index closed at $8.81 Wednesday, priced 67 cents below the July contract and down from its highest price in eight weeks.

WHEAT:

July Chicago wheat ended down 1 3/4 cents and July Kansas City wheat was down 1 1/2 cents, keeping low profiles the past couple weeks while excess moisture in the eastern Midwest adds to the list of concerns for this year's winter wheat crops. Similar to what we saw in 2016, Minneapolis wheat is showing the most bullish behavior among the three wheats as spring wheat's higher protein content continues to appeal to commercials. USDA said earlier that last week's export sales and shipments of wheat totaled 7.4 mb and 12.3 mb respectively, neutral-to-bearish amounts for the week. The U.S. will need to ship 100 mb the final 13 days to reach USDA's export estimate for the 2016-17 season, and that does not seem likely. With U.S. wheat production expected to be down in 2017, July Chicago wheat prices continue to trade roughly sideways and appears to be building a base of support. DTN's National SRW index closed at $3.95 Wednesday, priced 37 cents below the July contract and down from its highest price in ten weeks. DTN's National HRW index closed at $3.54, down from its highest price in ten months.

Todd Hultman can be reached at todd.hultman@dtn.com

Follow Todd Hultman on Twitter @ToddHultman1

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