It looks like the big news in the US this week was that surprise snowfall in winter wheat country and the flooding in corn and soybean regions. So now the winter wheat crop may be in question while the farmers can’t get into the fields to plan corn and beans........please click PDF to see more details

There were some weather-related ups and downs in US grain and oilseed prices this week. Crop planting progress was not a good as the trade had hoped --- corn planting was held back by cold and wet weather. However, knowing the US farmer, give them a little sunshine and they will quickly catch up on the planting. The weather forecasts for the next couple of weeks look much drier and a little warmer, so the farmers will be out planting like mad.

It was another down week for most everything – in the futures market corn was down by about USD 5 to 6 m/t, soybeans down by around USD 2 m/t, soymeal down by USD 8 m/t and winter wheat down by USD 8 m/t. The drop in futures prices does not always get reflected in export prices but you can be quite sure that with everything lower, the trend in export prices should also be to lower, barring any logistics problems that could keep export prices up..........please click PDF to see more details

This week is a holiday week in many countries with some closed last Thursday and Friday and others closed next Monday. These three/four day weekends can lead to very strange price action as many traders, especially futures traders, try to cover their positions in advance of a long weekend --- no one wants to take on a three-day risk.

Grain markets in the US and Europe were closed in Friday but earlier in the week we did have a small rally in all grain and soybean/soymeal prices..........

There didn’t seem to be a great deal of excitement in the grain and oilseed markets this week as prices just seemed to be drifting.
Concern is increasing in Argentina about the rain effect on the soybean harvest but the weather guys say that hot and dry weather is approaching – so the harvest may just be all fine..................please click PDF to see more details

The USDA’s Prospective Plantings report was a surprise for soybean people as the USDA has estimated plantings higher than anyone had expected and, I guess, a surprise too for corn folks as the corn acres are lower........please see PDF to see more details

One would be very hard pressed to find any grain/oilseed prices that moved higher this week. Corn prices dropped by USD 4 to 5 m/t while soybeans were down by USD 7 to 9 m/t and soybean meal was down by about USD 10 m/t. The same goes for wheat where US soft red winter wheat was down by about USD 4 m/t while hard red winter wheat slipped by USD 7 to 10 m/t...........please click PDF to see more details

It seemed like a quiet week in the grain markets – at least judging by the price changes all look quiet. Of course, no week in the grain business is actually all that quiet, even if there are no major changes in prices.........please click PDF to see more details

Depending on who you talk to, US corn prices are down on the week between USD 6 to 9 m/t but soybeans were down even further at USD 9 to 12 m/t lower – soymeal prices were also down but not as much at just USD 5 or so per m/t lower. The same situation was seen in US wheat where winter wheats were down by USD 4 to 8 m/t and spring wheat down by about USD 4 m/t.........please click PDF to see more details

It was a bit of an up week this week with corn moving about USD 5 m/t higher and about the same for soybeans – soymeal was pretty well unchanged on the week and winter wheat prices were perhaps a couple of bucks up..........please click PDF to see more details