Corn Futures Higher as Weather Premium Returns -- Daily Grain Highlights
26 Maio 2023 - 05:20PM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Corn for July delivery rose 2.4% to $6.06 a bushel on the
Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, with traders re-adding risk
premium for any potential weather surprises over the long
weekend.
--Wheat for July delivery rose 2.1% to $6.17 3/4 a bushel.
--Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.9% to $13.37 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Transition Period: Without much news ahead of the Memorial Day
holiday, traders turned to the weather. "The CBOT is adding weather
premium heading into the long holiday weekend knowing that mid-June
weather forecasts will key price direction early next week,"
AgResource said in a note. "The big question for traders is with
heat building this weekend, will the dryness extend into the middle
of June." Isolated and scattered showers are expected next week,
although they are expected to be limited, according to DTN.
Political Wrangling: Traders paring some of their short
contracts in order to mitigate risk also did so on tense
negotiations over raising the debt ceiling. "The debt ceiling and
the kick-off to the 2023 weather markets are the two major drivers
to this end-of-week push higher in my view," said Michael Zuzolo of
Global Commodity Analytics. The Wall Street Journal reported
negotiators are getting closer to a deal to increase the debt limit
ahead of the deadline next week when the government could run short
of money to fund programs, including agriculture.
INSIGHT
Looking for a Jump: There's expected to be positive news on U.S.
planting progress next week, Terry Reilly of Futures International
said in a note. "We look for a good jump in planting progress, a
slight increase in US winter wheat conditions, and near average for
U.S. corn conditions," Reilly said. The planting season in the U.S.
is drawing closer to its conclusion, with most of the work usually
done by June. The weekly report will be delayed by a day due to the
U.S. holiday.
Bucking the Status Quo: Short-covering has been a theme of row
crop trading over the past two days, but the trend for how fund
traders are approaching their positioning may be shifting. "The
market is speculatively short, and nervous," said Charlie
Sernatinger of Marex in a note. "Much of that is because virtually
no one has booked a profit this year to date in the grains."
AHEAD
--The USDA and the Chicago Board of Trade will be closed Monday,
reopening on Tuesday.
--The USDA will release its weekly grains export inspections
report at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday.
--The USDA will release its weekly crop progress report at 4
p.m. ET Tuesday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 26, 2023 16:05 ET (20:05 GMT)
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