Wheat Futures Lead Ag Futures Downward as Tropical Storm Barry Does Little Harm to Crops
15 Juli 2019 - 10:43PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Wheat for September delivery fell 2.7% to $5.07 3/4 a bushel
on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday as better-than-expected
weather following a weekend tropical storm was bearish for
futures.
--Corn for December delivery fell 2.5% to $4.47 a bushel.
--Soybeans for November delivery fell 1.2% to $9.20 a
bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Barry's Not Scary: Agricultural futures fell as Tropical Storm
Barry didn't deliver on expectations of rising river levels and
other excessive rain in certain areas over the weekend - a bearish
indicator for grains futures. "Flooding rains have missed key
producing areas," said AgResource.
GDP Woes: News of Chinese GDP growth hitting a 27-year low was
also bearish -- particularly for soybeans, which has been the most
responsive to global trade issues. The Chinese GDP growth rate fell
to 6.2% for the April-June quarter, the lowest since 1992. Hopes
for a U.S.-China trade deal and the reintroduction of big Chinese
buying has been a main factor fueling grains futures movement.
INSIGHT
Looking Forward: Futures have failed to move decisively in
either direction since vaulting higher in May and much of June.
Prices are likely to remain range-bound until the USDA publishes
the next World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates on Aug. 12,
Garrett Toay of First Choice Commodities says. The report will
include the Department's new estimates of how much land U.S.
farmers have planted. The June acreage report was met with
disbelief by many traders and analysts.
Some Good News: Inspections of soybeans for export total 854,373
metric tons, according to USDA data. This figure exceeded
predictions made by analysts, Terry Reilly of Futures International
said. China again is the biggest destination for U.S. soybeans
inspected by federal officials, with some 16.9 million bushels
inspected, the USDA says. However, soybeans futures showed little
movement on this news.
AHEAD
-The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and
inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
-The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers at
8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.
Joe Wallace contributed to this article.
Write to Kirk Maltais at Kirk.Maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 15, 2019 16:28 ET (20:28 GMT)
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