Grains, Soybeans Higher Overnight; Inspections Jump For Corn While Beans, Wheat Decline
(Agriculture.com) – SOYBEANS, GRAINS RISE ON WEATHER CONCERNS, CONSUMPTION OPTIMISM
Soybeans and grains rose amid ongoing worries about crops in South America and the U.S. southern Plains, and on renewed demand optimism for livestock feed.
Dry weather continues for much of Argentina with little relief in sight. Forecasters give little chance of rain, with most of the precipitation falling on fringe areas of the country’s corn and soybean belts.
In the U.S. southern Plains, the extremely dry weather has led to so-called red flag warnings, indicating conditions are ripe for wildfires. Much of the area hasn’t seen rain in at least 90 days and in most cases longer, according to the National Weather Service.
Friday’s cattle-on-feed report showed feed demand is increasing, analysts said.
Corn futures for May delivery rose ½ cent to $3.77 ¾ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Soybean futures for May delivery added 5 cents to $10.51 a bushel. Soymeal gained $3.80 to $384.10 a short ton, and soy oil fell 0.13 cent to 32.73 cents a pound.
Wheat added 3 ¾ cents to $4.76 ½ a bushel while Kansas City futures gained 8 cents to $5.01 ½ a bushel overnight.
INSPECTIONS OF CORN FOR EXPORT JUMPED LAST WEEK; BEANS, WHEAT DECLINED
Inspections of corn for export jumped last week while those for soybeans and wheat fell.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it inspected 1.31 million metric tons of corn for shipment to overseas buyers in the week that ended on Feb. 22. That’s up from 938,099 tons seven days earlier.
Soybean inspections totaled 761, 961 tons, down from 962,050 tons a week earlier, the USDA said in a weekly report.
Wheat examinations were reported at 280,243 tons, well below the prior week’s total of 424,231 tons, according to the government.
Inspections of all three crops for overseas delivery still lags their respective year-ago paces.
The USDA has assessed 18 million metric tons of corn for overseas delivery since the start of the marketing year on Sept. 1. That’s well below the 25.9 million inspected during the same timeframe a year earlier.
Soybean inspections so far this year were reported at 37.8 million tons, down from 43.4 million the prior marketing year, the government said.
The agency said it has assessed 17.8 million tons of wheat for overseas delivery since the start of the grain’s marketing year on June 1, down from 18.9 million the previous year.
UP TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN LIKELY TO CAUSE FLOODING FROM ARKANSAS TO KENTUCKY
Extreme rainfall likely will cause flooding in parts of Arkansas northeast into Kentucky this week, according to the National Weather Service.
As much as 5 inches of rain is expected in a stretch of land from Little Rock through Memphis starting today and continuing through early Thursday, the agency said in a report early Tuesday.
“Showers and thunderstorms are expected to increase across Arkansas Tuesday night and Wednesday, especially over central/southern sections of the state,” the NWS said.
The agency said landowners along streams and rivers should “remain alert to changing weather forecasts” as flood warnings abound.
Flooding is also a problem along rivers and streams in much of Illinois, northern Indiana and southern Michigan due to rare rainfall last week and melting ice and snow that’s causing excess runoff, NWS maps show.
