Soybeans, Grains Higher Overnight; Export Inspections Higher For Corn, Wheat

(Agriculture.com) –  SOYBEANS, GRAINS HIGHER AS BUYING CONTINUES ON PLANTING ESTIMATES

Soybeans and grains were higher in overnight trading, rebounding from losses on Monday, as investors weigh planting in the U.S. versus concerns about a trade war with China.

The U.S. Department said late last week that growers will plant 89 million acres with soybeans, well below expectations and down from a government estimate of 90 million in February. Corn area also came in below forecasts at 88 million acres.

The lower acreage numbers have been giving markets a boost since the report was released on Thursday as it took traders and brokers by surprise.

Still, analysts said the ongoing trade row with China, which imposed tariffs on almost 130 U.S. items including pork and wine as retaliation for the U.S. putting levies on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, is likely going to keep a lid on prices.

Soybean futures for May delivery rose 8 ½ cents to $10.44 a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soymeal added $3.10 to $380.40 a short ton and soy oil fell 0.02 cent to 32.02 cents a pound.

Corn futures rose ¾ cent to $3.88 a bushel overnight.

Wheat gained 4 ¾ cents to $4.51 a bushel in Chicago while Kansas City futures added 7 ½ cents to $4.75 a bushel overnight.

WEEKLY GRAIN INSPECTIONS RISE, SOYBEANS DECLINE; KANSAS WHEAT RATINGS PLUNGE FROM 2017

Inspections of grains for export rose week-to-week while soybeans declined, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The government inspected 1.35 million metric tons of corn for delivery to overseas buyers in the week that ended on March 29, the USDA said in a report. That’s up from 1.33 million seven days earlier, but down from 1.49 million during the same week a year earlier.

Wheat inspections totaled 361,723 metric tons, up from 343,772 tons the prior week. Still, that’s down form the 573,010 tons inspected in 2017, according to the agency.

Soybean inspections were reported at 542,434 metric tons, down 24% from the prior week and 14% a year earlier, the USDA said.

Inspections for all three crops are lower in their respective marketing years versus the same timeframe a year earlier.

Corn assessments since the start of the marketing year on Sept. 1 have totaled 24.4 million metric tons, down from 33.3 million a year earlier, according to the government. Soybean inspections are at 41.5 million metric tons, down from 47 million last year.

Wheat checks since the start of the grain’s marketing year on June 1 are at 19.9 million metric tons, down from 21.8 million a year earlier, the USDA said.

In other news, the USDA said in its first national crop progress report of the year that only 32% of winter wheat is in good or excellent condition as of Sunday, well below the 51% that earned top ratings at this time in 2017.

Thirty percent of the crop was rated poor or very poor versus only 14% a year earlier.

In Kansas, the biggest producer of winter wheat, only 10% was rated good and zero percent was rated excellent. About 47% of the crop was rated poor or very poor, the USDA said.

STORMS MOVE EAST INTO MINNESOTA, WISCONSIN AS OLD MAN WINTER WON’T GO AWAY

Winter just won’t go away as the storm that yesterday stretched from Montana into the Dakotas has now moved east into Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

In parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, freezing drizzle will be replaced with snow with accumulations reaching up to 10 inches, according to the National Weather Service. As much as 6 inches is expected to fall in parts of northeast Iowa.

“The heaviest snow is expected to fall from mid to late morning through early evening,” the NWS said in a report early Tuesday morning. “Some blowing and drifting snow is possible in open areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa this afternoon and evening as the winds increase.”

In the southern Plains, a red flag warning is in effect along with high-wind warnings and, oddly, a freeze warning.

The red flag warning is due to low humidity and strong winds that are creating extremely dry conditions, meaning wildfires are a real danger. Winds are expected to be sustained in the Oklahoma Panhandle at 45 miles an hour with gusts up to 60 miles an hour, the NWS said.

The freeze warning is further east in central and eastern Oklahoma and north Texas where temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s, according to the agency. Lows in Oklahoma tomorrow morning are pegged from 20 to 27 degrees.