Overnight grains - corn, beans sharply lower
Corn and beans have extended last night's sharp declines and are substantially lower again this morning. Corn which was largely limit down last night leads the way again this morning with Dec 23c lower, making for a 53c decline since Thursday night's pre-holiday close.
The USDA upped it's good/excellent rating for both corn and beans by one percentage point after last night's close. Whilst this was largely expected, it reinforces the view that, given warm but not too stressful weather, a decent crop is still possible.
In Iowa, the top corn-producing state, 57% of the crop earned the good-to-excellent condition rating, four percentage points above the preceding week. In Illinois, the good-to-excellent condition rating for the corn crop was 63%, up three percentage points from the preceding week.
Adding to pressure on corn is lower crude and the growing anti-biofuel movement. Additional pressure comes from Informa's crop estimate released yesterday saying that 2008 corn output will total 12.002 billion bushels, up 2.3 percent from the Department of Agriculture's June 10 forecast of 11.735 billion bushels.
November soybeans are currently 22c lower, having also declined the daily limit 70c last night.
In top soy producer Iowa, the good-to-excellent condition rating for the soybean crop was 57%, one percentage point above the preceding week. In Illinois, 56% of soybeans were in good-to-excellent condition, a four percentage-point gain on the week.
Wheat is steady overnight after the USDA showed a surprise drop in the good/excellent category for spring wheat of five percentage points. North Dakota, the biggest producing spring wheat state, saw an eight point drop from last week to 69% which seems to have heavily influenced the final result.
Still 69% good/excellent is still a significant figure and some traders are questioning whether last week's number was overstated and this is simply a correction. "We have a really good looking spring wheat crop out there," said one trader.
The USDA said 52% of the U.S. winter wheat crop was harvested, up from 36%last week but below the five-year average of 61%.
September wheat is 2c firmer overnight, having dropped at 51 1/2c last night's close.
The USDA upped it's good/excellent rating for both corn and beans by one percentage point after last night's close. Whilst this was largely expected, it reinforces the view that, given warm but not too stressful weather, a decent crop is still possible.
In Iowa, the top corn-producing state, 57% of the crop earned the good-to-excellent condition rating, four percentage points above the preceding week. In Illinois, the good-to-excellent condition rating for the corn crop was 63%, up three percentage points from the preceding week.
Adding to pressure on corn is lower crude and the growing anti-biofuel movement. Additional pressure comes from Informa's crop estimate released yesterday saying that 2008 corn output will total 12.002 billion bushels, up 2.3 percent from the Department of Agriculture's June 10 forecast of 11.735 billion bushels.
November soybeans are currently 22c lower, having also declined the daily limit 70c last night.
In top soy producer Iowa, the good-to-excellent condition rating for the soybean crop was 57%, one percentage point above the preceding week. In Illinois, 56% of soybeans were in good-to-excellent condition, a four percentage-point gain on the week.
Wheat is steady overnight after the USDA showed a surprise drop in the good/excellent category for spring wheat of five percentage points. North Dakota, the biggest producing spring wheat state, saw an eight point drop from last week to 69% which seems to have heavily influenced the final result.
Still 69% good/excellent is still a significant figure and some traders are questioning whether last week's number was overstated and this is simply a correction. "We have a really good looking spring wheat crop out there," said one trader.
The USDA said 52% of the U.S. winter wheat crop was harvested, up from 36%last week but below the five-year average of 61%.
September wheat is 2c firmer overnight, having dropped at 51 1/2c last night's close.