Losses in soybean oil and weak export demand helped send soybean futures to double-digit losses on Friday. Corn posted modest losses while wheat was steady to higher.
Soybean oil hit a five-week low, with trade tensions between the US and China weighing on the market. The USDA’s weekly export sales report – pushed back from Thursday by the Memorial Day holiday on Monday - showed 146,034 tonnes in old-crop bean sales, coming in below analysts' estimates of 150,000 to 500,000. New-crop sales totaled 32,000 tonnes, versus estimates of 0 to 250,000. April soybean crush was estimated at 201.8 million bu, down 2.3% from March but 13.7% higher year-over-year. July beans dropped a dime to $10.41 ¾, and November lost 10 ½ cents to $10.26 ¾.
Corn fell on mostly good Midwest weather conditions, with a mix of rain and sun expected for the next couple of weeks. Export sales data from this morning showed 916,712 tonnes in 2024-25 business, in the middle of traders’ estimates of 750,000 to 1.4 million. New-crop sales were 31,000 tonnes, on the lower side of the 25,000 to 400,000 expectations.
Wheat drew some support from strong new-crop export sales and the lower-than-expected US spring wheat crop condition rating. However, gains in the winter wheat contracts were limited by favourable weather on the US Plains. New-crop wheat sales were tallied at 711,368 tonnes, which was on the higher end of the estimates of 300,000 to 800,000. July Chicago was steady at $5.34, July Kansas City was up 1 ½ cents at $5.33 ¼, and July Minneapolis gained a dime to $6.25 ½.
