Headlines:

  • Corn, soybean futures rise on plant rain-delays
    The heavily-sold speculative fund community covered some shorts in corn and soybeans, prompted by the risk of delayed US sowing, a sharply lower dollar, and outside markets were supportive, as stock markets rallied on a combination of the reassuring French election result, and the promise of a hefty tax cut to be announced this week by US President Donald Trump. The stronger euro also helped push the dollar lower, a move Kim Rugel at Benson Quinn Commodities said is “supportive for the broad markets but also grains as it keeps the US competitive globally going into the summer”.
  • Hedge funds extend ag selling spree to second-longest on record
    Hedge funds extended their shorting spree on agricultural commodities to the second longest on record, prompting ideas that selling may have gone too far – with one commentator likening the wheat market to a geyser about to blow. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, expanded its net short position in futures and options in the top 13 US-traded agricultural commodities, from cotton to cattle, by 50,324 contracts in the week to last Tuesday, analysis of data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulator shows. The move represented a ninth successive week in which hedge fund sales have exceeded purchases – a spree exceeded only once on records going back to 2006 – and one which raised the net short to 162,974 contracts. The selldown echoes a broader discontent by investors with commodities, with a monthly survey last week from Bank of America Merrill Lynch showing a majority of fund managers returning to an “underweight” position on the asset class, by the biggest margin in months.
  • Senate set to confirm Sonny Perdue as agriculture secretary
    After months of delay, the Senate is expected to confirm former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as agriculture secretary with bipartisan support. Perdue, who would be the first Southerner in the post in more than two decades, is the son of a farmer and has owned several agricultural companies. The Senate plans to vote on his nomination Monday. At his confirmation hearing in March, Perdue assured nervous farm-state senators that he will advocate for rural America, even as President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed deep cuts to some farm programs. He also promised to reach out to Democrats, and several Democratic senators have said they will vote for him.

Summary:

The soybean complex closed with the strength that was present all day long for its trading session. Multiple weather forecast outlets are calling for a lot of rain in the Corn Belt for both the 6 to 10 day and 11 to 15 day outlooks. Corn and wheat were mixed today because of mixed weather outlook. The southern states, Illinois & Nebraska look to have above average for planting but the other states are behind average which will should lend some support to corn short term.  Additionally, the weak US dollar and strong exports gave corn and beans mild support today. Nationwide, corn planting should be at about 18% by now but estimates suggest that it will be closer to 13% in the USDA Crop Progress Report.