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Corn Sales Still Lag

Importers took advantage of lower prices and a historically cheap dollar to stock up on wheat in the latest week, taking more than 33 million bushels according to this morning's USDA tally.

Buyers included a variety of customers from Asia, the Americas and Africa, some taking multiple loads as they searched for bargains. Several good weeks of new deals have totals for the marketing year moving closer to USDA forecasts, holding out the potential for sales to even increase a little as supplies of milling quality wheat remain tight due to weather problems around the world.

Traders were also waiting for results of Egypt's latest snap tender, due out before the open, for both hard and soft wheat.

Soybean sales remain strong, easily beating forecasts by the trade at 43.2 million bushels. China continues to be the dominant buyer, taking over 80% of the weekly total. The fact that China keeps buying out of the U.S. perhaps reflects some concerns about the potential for La Nina weather to lower yields in South America, with a drier trend already noted in parts of Argentina and southern Brazil.

Corn exports continue to bring up the rear, with just 21 million bushels of new sales, below trade guesses and the weekly rate needed to reach USDA's forecast for the marketing year. The biggest buyer was South Korea, but half of its purchases were merely switches from previously reported sales to unknown destinations.

For the complete export report, click HERE.