DTN Closing Grain Comments

General Comments:

Corn closed up 2 1/2 cents in the September contract and up 1 1/2 cents in the December. Soybeans closed down 6 3/4 cents in the September and down 6 3/4 cents in the November. Wheat closed up 1/2 cent in the December Chicago, down 1/4 cent in the December Kansas City, and down 3 1/4 cents in the December Minneapolis. The September U.S. dollar index is down 0.33 at 91.31. December gold is up $1.60 at $1,351.90 while December silver is down $0.02 and December copper is down 0.1040. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 37 at 21,822. October crude oil is down $1.77 at $47.32. October heating oil is down $0.0285, October RBOB gasoline is down $0.0248, and October natural gas is down $0.089.

For the week:

September corn closed up 4 1/4 cents and December closed up 1 1/2 cents. September soybeans were up 14 1/2 cents while the November was up 12 1/2 cents. December Chicago wheat was down 1 cent, December Kansas City wheat was up 2 3/4 cents, and December Minneapolis wheat was up 13 1/2 cents.

Corn:

December corn closed up 1 1/2 cents Friday and for the entire week, which saw mostly dry conditions across the Corn Belt and cooler, but not freezing, temperatures. With this year's slower pace of crop development, temperatures are a concern, but so far there is no likelihood of significant freeze in either the seven-day or extended forecasts for corn's major growing areas. Early Friday, USDA's final report of export sales for 2016-17 showed sales and shipments at -14.1 million and +27.4 million bushels, respectively, a combination that put total corn shipments 44 million bushels short of USDA's export estimate for 2016-17. New-crop corn sales totaled 58.3 million bushels for the week, giving the entire report a neutral-to-bullish influence on corn prices. USDA added later that 7.1 million bushels (179,324 mt) of U.S. corn were sold to unknown destinations for 2017-18. With crops maturing in the field and USDA getting ready to release its next round of monthly estimates on Tuesday, December corn prices have paused from last month's selling and are holding above the August low of $3.44 1/4. DTN's National Corn Index closed at $3.10 Thursday, priced 45 cents below the December contract and up from its lowest price in nine months. There were 67 deliveries of September corn early Friday. In outside markets, the September U.S. dollar index is down 0.33, reflecting concerns about the adverse impacts of two major hurricanes on the U.S. economy.

Soybeans:

November soybeans closed down 6 3/4 cents Friday, but held on to a gain of 12 1/2 cents for the week, still benefitting from world demand in 2017 that has been strong enough to buffer the bearish impacts of a record crop from Brazil and the possibility of another record harvest in the U.S. Early Friday, USDA said the final export sales report of 2016-17 put sales at -13.5 million bushels and shipments at 26.3 million bushels, a neutral-to-bearish finish that saw total shipments fall 15 million bushels shy of USDA's export estimate. New-crop soybean sales totaled 56.0 million bushels on the week. As usual, China has been the largest buyer and Dow Jones reported that all of China's soybean imports were up 16% in the first eight months of 2017 from a year ago. USDA also added at 8 a.m. CDT that China bought 9.7 million bushels (264,000 mt) of U.S. soybeans for 2017-18. Here in the U.S., USDA's next WASDE report is due out Tuesday morning and Dow Jones' survey of analysts expects USDA to estimate the soybean crop at a record high 4.32 billion bushels based on a yield of 48.7 bushels. This week's higher close is a bullish change of momentum for soybean prices and is unusual for this time of year, coming ahead of what could be another record harvest. DTN's National Soybean Index closed at $9.04 Thursday, priced 64 cents below the November contract and holding above its lows in June. Among September contracts, delivery intentions totaled 29 for soybeans, 71 for soybean meal, and 434 for soybean oil early Friday.

Wheat

December Chicago wheat ended up a half-cent Friday, but lost a penny in a quiet week of trading. The spring wheat harvest is almost done for the year in spite of smoky conditions in the northwestern U.S. and planting of winter wheat is about to begin in the southwestern Plains. Except for moderate drought in central Kansas, planting conditions seem generally favorable and the seven-day forecast is mostly dry. On the demand side, USDA said last week's export sales and shipments of wheat totaled 13.8 million and 8.3 million bushels, respectively, smaller amounts impacted by Hurricane Harvey. With the first quarter of the new season now on the books, total wheat shipments are up 7% in 2017-18 from a year ago, well above USDA's estimated pace. The U.S. was the world's top exporter of wheat in 2016-17, but is expected to fall to number three this season, pushed aside by increased production in Russia and Europe. In the meantime, commercials have increased their support for Chicago wheat in the low $4s and that has helped to stop the downward slide in U.S. winter wheat prices. DTN's National SRW index closed at $3.92 Thursday, priced 45 cents below the December contract and up from its lowest price in four months. DTN's National HRW index closed at $3.58, also up from its lowest price in four months. Among September wheat contracts, delivery intentions totaled 100 for Chicago, 5 for Minneapolis, and none for K.C. early Friday.

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

Follow Todd on Twitter @ToddHultman1

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