This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at brooks@palmettograin.com or 843-540-4540.
Markets traded lower on Monday as the path of least resistance favors the bears still. There are big sections of the Midwest that continue to get rain, and some would greatly benefit from a break, but to the market right now, rain makes grain. There are some trouble areas in the country, but overall, there is no threat big enough to get the market’s attention. USDA released updated condition ratings on Monday afternoon, showing corn and bean conditions steady from last week. Sixty-eight percent of the corn crop is rated good or excellent compared with 70% last year and the five-year average of 65%. For soybeans, 66% of the crop is rated good or excellent. That is identical to last year and compares with the five-year average of 63%. We have increasing demand and not enough excess supply that the market can ignore a weather threat to either corn or beans if we see one during the growing season. We still have a lot of growing season left.
Next Tuesday, June 30, we get the Planted Acreage and Quarterly Stocks report from USDA at noon. Then the markets are closed Friday, July 3, for Independence Day. USDA’s July Supply and Demand Report comes out the next Friday, July 10. These are key reports, and they come in the middle of the growing season, when weather forecasts will also have growing importance as pollination comes into sight for much of the Midwest.
Outside markets remain very volatile as there remains a lot of rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran, but overall things seem to be heading toward more stability now. Energy markets have calmed down as there has been a steady increase in ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. There is still a long way to go to get back to prewar volume, but the market is happy to see the direction of the trend.