After falling to a marking year low last week, soybean sales picked up again according to USDA's weekly export report. And this time they were joined by corn, which enjoyed a solid week after recent disappointments.
Net new bookings of old and new crop corn totaled 41.7 million, USDA said, well above both trade guesses and the rate needed to meet the government's forecast for the marketing year. USDA trimmed 100 million bushels off its prediction in this morning's monthly supply and demand report, dropping sales to 1.8 billion for the year.
Large sales to Mexico, as well as purchases by Japan, accounted for most of the total.
China continues to show interest in U.S. soybeans, accounting for almost 80% of the business done in the latest week, which totaled 29.8 million bushels. USDA also announced the sale of 4.4 million bushels to China this morning under its daily reporting system.
Chinese processors aggressively bought U.S. beans this fall, after the government scooped up local supplies to rebuild stocks and boost prices for farmers. With sales to the rest of the world weak, it's essential for China to keep buying from the U.S.
The only disappointment in this week's report came in wheat, which again was weak, with just 8.8 million bushels of new sales. That's still above the rate needed to meet USDA's forecast for the marketing year, which was unchanged in today's supply and demand report.
Japan remains a slow buyer for the year, with the size of its weekly tenders well behind those of recent years. The U.S. did ship some wheat to Iran, and more tenders are due next week out of the Middle East. However, with a lot of wheat available out of Europe and the Black Sea, it's doubtful the U.S. will get that business.
