The markets were buoyed by the release of the above-expectation USDA export sales data.
In terms of wheat, that data showed weekly net sales of 295,300 metric tons for 2021/2022, up noticeably from the previous week and up 15% from the prior four-week average.
Corn sales overseas for delivery in the 2021-2022 marketing year jumped to 1.16 million metric tons from 684,000 tons a week earlier, the USDA said. These were primarily for Mexico (464Kt), Colombia (352Kt) and Canada (292.6 Mt), said the CRM Agri team.
“Given the Canadian crop losses, Canada is likely to appear more often this season.”
Soybean sales in the seven days that ended on August 26 hit 2.13 million metric tons, primarily for China (1.26MT), the agency said. That is an increase on the 1.75 million tons a week earlier.
“It remains to be seen, though, how Hurricane Ida will impact export volumes for both corn and soy over the coming weeks,” cautioned the analysts.
Declining ethanol production in the US
While export data provided support for markets, ethanol production in the US has continued to decline, with production at a six month low of 905k barrels a day, a reflection of the building COVID-19 cases once again in the US, and a concerning demand side trend for corn market bulls, noted the CRM Agri team.
Market attention will soon shift to the imminent US corn and soybean harvest, with the pace of harvest building toward the end of September, they added.
“Conditions have been far from ideal, but rainfall has been more regular in August and yield estimates are varied.”
Next week all eyes will be on the USDA WASDE as the agency is to release a revised area estimate for corn and soybean acreage figures, which CRM Agri describes as an unusual move as area revisions normally take place in October.