(Farm Futures) – Export sales last week of new-crop U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat topped expectations as lower prices and an improving Chinese economy likely attracted buyers.
USDA’s weekly export report on Thursday showed 46.6 million bushels of new-crop soybeans were sold, mainly to China, 43 million bushels of corn, and 29.4 million of wheat. Chicago corn, soybean and wheat futures showed little reaction to the report in early electronic trading.
“A good week of export sales all around doesn’t appear to be giving much of a lift to futures as the market focuses on supply, not demand,” said Bryce Knorr, Farm Futures senior grain analyst. “Wheat business finally showed some traction as harvest picked up steam, after a slow start. No real surprises in the destinations, with Brazil and Nigeria highlighting the buyers again.
Nigeria bought more wheat this week, with USDA reporting two purchases in its daily reporting system
While the new-crop corn and soybean sales were down from a week earlier, the numbers still reflected an active export pace. A drop in prices this summer likely contributed as corn futures are near a four-year low and soybeans at a 2-1/2-year low.
“Easing credit restrictions and improving Chinese economic data and government stimulus efforts also were factors stimulating buying,” Knorr said.
In Thursday’s report, corn sales included 6.8 million bushels of old-crop and 43.04 million of new crop. South Korea led old-crop buyers while Mexico led the new-crop business.
Soybean sales included nearly 6.9 million bushels of old-crop and 46.6 million of new-crop. China was the leading buyer of both old-crop and new-crop soybeans.
Wheat sales at 29.4 million bushels were up considerably from the previous week and surpassed trade forecasts, with Nigeria, Panama and Brazil the leading buyers.
