Soybeans Higher on Reports of Export Delays - Daily Grain Highlights
January 20 2022 - 3:40PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Soybeans for March delivery rose 2.5% to $14.25 3/4 a bushel
on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday on reports that Brazilian
farmers are reluctant to sell their harvests to exporters, which
may push more demand toward U.S. suppliers.
--Corn for March delivery rose 0.1% to $6.11 a bushel.
--Wheat for March delivery fell 0.8% to $7.90 1/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Holding Out: Soybeans perked up Thursday, putting them at their
highest level since August, on reported reluctance of Brazil's
farmers to sell their crops. The move would leave exporters short
for orders and may put U.S. exports in a better position. "This
would be expected to lead China to buy more U.S. soybeans to extend
our export season to cover its crush needs until the Brazilian
farmer decides to sell if the holdout continues," said Arlan
Suderman of StoneX. Additionally, Mr. Suderman adds that China is
rumored to have purchased a large batch of U.S. corn and soybean
exports which would lend credence to the slowdown from Brazil.
Turn Around: Daily production of ethanol in the U.S. rebounded
from last week's decline, which provided support for corn futures
that were sagging amid a lack of fresh news or a change to the
South American weather forecast. The EIA said that for the week
ended January 14, daily ethanol production hit 1.05 million barrels
per day, up from 1.01 million barrels per day reported last week.
Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week had largely expected
production to fall, to as low as 996,000 barrels per day. Ethanol
is a key source of consumption for U.S. corn.
INSIGHTS
Looking for More: Export sales of U.S. corn are expected to rise
this week, according to grain traders surveyed by The Wall Street
Journal. They're forecasting that sales reported by the USDA for
the week ended January 13 will total anywhere from 500,000 metric
tons to 1.2 million tons - which is up from 457,700 tons reported
last week. Soybean and wheat sales may also turn higher, traders
say. This week's report is delayed until Friday due to the Martin
Luther King Jr. holiday Monday.
Rocking the Boat: Freezing occurring on main river shipping
lanes is delaying barges of grain shipments traveling through,
according to the USDA. "Severe winter weather has complicated
shipping on many rivers," said the USDA in its weekly
transportation report. "Freezing of the Mississippi River has
continuously delayed the river's barge movements since early
January. On the St. Louis-to-Cairo section of the Lower
Mississippi, freezing and low-water conditions currently slow
operations and require reduced tow sizes." The USDA adds that
unfavorable conditions are expected to persist for the rest of the
month. For the week ending January 15, the USDA says barged grain
movements totaled 491,988 tons, down 46% from the same period last
year.
AHEAD:
--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30
a.m. ET Friday.
-The USDA will release its monthly Cattle on Feed report at 3
p.m. ET Friday.
--The CFTC will release its weekly commitment of traders report
at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2022 15:25 ET (20:25 GMT)
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