By Kirk Maltais
--Wheat for July delivery rose 0.2% to $7.08 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, with tough weather cutting into the U.S. wheat crop.
--Soybeans for May delivery rose 0.1% to $15.17 1/4 a bushel.
--Corn for May delivery were unchanged at $6.76 1/2 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Weather Woes: The USDA's latest Crop Progress report showed winter wheat crop condition unchanged from the previous week - with only 27% of the crop in good or excellent condition. That's the lowest in over 30 years, said Steve Freed of ADM Investor Services in a note, and is driving new interest in commodities towards wheat. "Wheat futures are up on new money coming in," said Mr. Freed. The Crop Progress report also shows that spring wheat planting is down from the average for this time of year, with only 3% planted so far, versus a 4-year average of 7%.
Selling Mentality: After recent gains in reaction to cold weather in U.S. growing areas, traders spent much of the day locking in profits, said AgResource in a note. But futures turned around later in the day - with support coming from farmer's reluctance to sell their crops grown last year. "Farmers have not shown a willingness to sell amid cold/unsettled weather forecasts," said the firm. "Most farmers will wait until after their crops are seeded to shed additional old crop supply."
INSIGHT
Limited Support: Strength in both palm oil and soyoil continued today, but soybean futures got only a limited lift. Fund traders are positioned long on soybeans already, and as a result, the upside for prices is limited, said Sterling Smith of AgriSompo. "The fund's big long position isn't likely to grow and this is keeping the upside limited and keeping buyers at bay," said Mr. Smith. In the CFTC's last Commitment of Traders report, fund traders were reported as holding a net long of over 125,000 contracts - with fund traders actively shedding longs for the week ending April 11.
Ahead of Schedule: Spring planting in the U.S. remains ahead of the typical pace, the USDA reported late yesterday. In its latest Crop Progress report, the government said that 8% of the intended U.S. corn crop has been planted, up from the 4-year average of 5%. Soybean planting is also off to a fast start, with 4% of that crop planted - up from an average of 1%. Although planting progress is accelerated, it's actually slower than anticipated by traders, said AgriTel in a note.
Growing Outlook: The outlook for Russian wheat production continues to climb, according to SovEcon. In a note, the firm revised its outlook for 2023 Russian wheat higher to 86.8 million metric tons, up 1.5 million tons from its previous outlook. Improved weather in wheat-growing areas is spurring the change, said the firm. "In March and April, the weather in the key wheat-growing regions of Russia was mostly favorable," said the firm. The current outlook for Russia's crop is a drop-off from last year, but up from the five-year average.
AHEAD
--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.
--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
04-18-23 1530ET
