January 2,2024 Grain Commentary
Market Re-Cap 1/2/24
Commodities are ringing in the new year today with softer markets. Corn, beans, and wheat are all trading lower with equities, while energy sectors are higher. I have added the 2023 Commodity Performance chart. Below, you will see corn has lost 31%, beans lost 15%, and HRW wheat lost 21%. On the plus side, natural gas is down 44%, heating oil is 24% lower, while cattle are on the top end of the positive bars.
Corn– The export inspections report today had 22.4 million bushels shipped. The shipments in the previous week were on the low end of estimates and the smallest in 5 weeks. There is no change in the Panama Canal as the low water situations cause grain movement congestion. Brazil’s first crop corn planting continues to lag, reporting 85% completed while typically at 98%. The corn issues in South America could have been the only reason corn didn’t see double-digit losses.
Beans– StoneX Brazil announced their cut to Brazil’s soybean production, shaving off almost 10 million metric tonnes. Their previous estimate for soybean production was 161.9 MMT, now cut to 152.8 MMT. Yet the market rewarded us with a 23-26cent loss. The US market has not seen increased export traffic from the drought conditions; US Exports are weak. The weekly export inspections report revealed a 13 week low of 35.3 million bushels shipped.
Wheat- Increasing tensions with new missile launches on vessels on the Black Sea back no strength for the wheat market. Wheat export inspections were as expected at 10.1 million bushels shipped, putting the week at the lowest volume in 4 weeks.
Kasey Baker
The DeLong Co., Inc.
815-823-2522