After a higher start, wheat turned lower pulling corn lower, while soybeans are mixed with old crop higher, and new crop slightly lower.
In the early grain trade after starting out lower, July corn is now down 8 cents, with December down 9 cents. July soybeans are trading 2 cents higher, and November soybeans are down 1. Wheat futures were higher overnight but have now turned 8 to 12 cents lower. So far July corn and soybean contracts have held key support.
The USDA Crop Progress report yesterday showed the U.S. corn crop is 72% planted, slightly ahead of expectations. The problem area is in North Dakota and Minnesota. North Dakota is only 20% planted. This key Corn Belt state still has 2 million corn acres, 8 million soy acres, and 2.7 million spring wheat acres left to plant. The Prevent Plant insurance date starts tomorrow for most of North Dakota. If you take the corn remaining to be planted in North Dakota and Minnesota, its over 8 million acres. I am estimating that between spring wheat and corn in those two states, we will have over 2 million acres of Prevent Plant.
For soybeans, the report showed soybean planting 50% complete vs 49% and last week 73% last year, 55% average.
READ MORE: 72% of corn planted with soybeans at 50%, USDA says
Winter wheat conditions 28% good/excellent vs 28% expected 27% last week, 47% last year. Spring wheat planting is 49% complete vs. 56 % last week, 93% last year, and the five-year average of 83% planted.
In the outside markets crude oil is up 60 cents per barrel, the US stock market has turned lower with the Dow down 224 points, Livestock futures are mixed.
About the Author: Al Kluis has been a commodity advisor and broker since 1976. Kluis is an introducing broker with Wedbush Futures and writes a column, Your Profit, which appears in every issue of Successful Farming magazine. Kluis has published two books on commodities trading and is commonly quoted in major publications including the Wall Street Journal. He is also a featured speaker at commodity conferences nationwide. Kluis is a frequent market analyst for the Linder Farm Radio News Network. A Minnesota farm boy, Kluis was awarded his degree in ag economics from the University of Minnesota in 1974, after which he was executive director of the Minnesota Soybean Association before entering the markets full-time. His family still farms in southwest Minnesota, and Kluis enjoys helping with fieldwork when the markets allow.
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Editor’s Note: The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial, and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance – whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies – is not indicative of future results. Trading advice reflects good-faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee the advice given will result in profitable trades.
