In Commodity News 14/01/2017
Chicago soybean futures were on track on Friday for their biggest weekly gain since late November, with prices underpinned by the U.S. government reducing its estimate for yields and stockpiles.
Wheat is on track for a third week of gains after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said farmers slashed their winter wheat plantings to the lowest in more than a century.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The USDA trimmed its estimate of the U.S. 2016 soybean yield to 52.1 bushels per acre, still an all-time high, but down
from its previous figure of 52.5 and below an average of trade estimates for 52.7.
* The agency also lowered its forecast of U.S. 2016/17 soybean ending stocks to 420 million bushels, from 480 million last month.
* The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract has risen 4.2 percent this week, the most since the week ending November 25. Wheat is up about half a percent, rising for a third week in a row while corn is little changed after climbing for two weeks.
* CBOT wheat found support on Thursday after the USDA pegged U.S. winter wheat plantings for harvest in 2017 at 32.4 million acres, down 10 percent from a year ago and the least in more than a century. Analysts said the decline reflected ample domestic supplies that have pressured farmgate prices.
* However, underscoring burdensome old-crop supplies, the USDA also reported U.S. Dec. 1 wheat stocks at 2.073 billion
bushels, up from 1.75 billion a year earlier and the highest Dec. 1 figure since 1987.
* Corn is under pressure after USDA’s reports confirmed hefty U.S. supplies after a record harvest topping 15 billion bushels.
* Long queues of trucks loaded with soybeans have been forming in front of elevators in the heart of Brazil’s grain belt this week, a sure sign the harvest is speeding up and will soon pour an expected record volume of the oilseed into the market.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares dipped on Friday but remained on track for weekly gains while the dollar was poised for a losing week, as investors weighed whether President-elect Donald Trump would stress growth-boosting steps when he takes office.
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per Hundredweight RSI 14, exponential
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sonali Paul)
