1/22/2024

Corn was quiet on Monday trading only a 4-cent range and finishing fractionally above unchanged on the day. Soybeans offered a little more excitement with 7-11 cent gains and March spreads tightening. After an 8 a.m. sale announcement on Friday, it was rumored that China was potentially in for more business but the USDA did not confirm a sale this morning. U.S. weekly export inspections were okay last week and falling near mid-range of expectations. Corn shipments totaled 713k tonnes and soybeans totaled 1.161 mln tonnes shipped. Corn shipment pace is now 17 million bushels ahead of the USDA target, down from 18 million bushels the previous week. Soybean shipments continue to fall further behind the USDA target, with the deficit increasing to 53 million bushels versus 43 million last week. There is still time to add some soybean business but the U.S. export program for soybeans is typically quiet between now and the new crop period.

Soybeans broke out of their trend channel to the high side. Hopefully the start of some price recovery in soybeans. Remember, we cannot be bullish both futures and basis. Any significant rallies will weaken cash basis further (corn included)!