Soybean futures fell back on Thursday following two days of gains in the aftermath of this week’s bullish USDA supply-demand update. Corn was little changed, with wheat mainly lower.
Profit taking after the recent gains helped to push soybeans lower today, although the market remains broadly supported by the USDA report which raised the average US yield estimate from last month but cut production and ending stocks due to sharply lower planted and harvested area estimates. Uncertainty about Chinese demand continued to overhang soybeans, especially as the country is doing more business with Brazil rather than the US amid trade tensions. Weekly export sales for soybeans were mixed, with old-crop business showing a net reduction of 377,610 tonnes for the week ended Aug. 7, typical for this time in the marketing year. New-crop sales were a marketing year high at 1.133 million tonnes, exceeding trade guesses. September beans fell 16 ½ cents to $10.07 ½, and November lost 15 ¾ cents to $10.28 ½.
The heavy US supply remained an anchor on corn, but good export demand helped to limit the downside today. Old-crop business showed a net reduction of 88,686 tonnes, but new-crop bookings of 2.04 million tonnes were on the high side of trade expectations. The USDA also reported private export sales of 132,000 tonnes to Spain and 136,000 tonnes to Korea earlier today. September corn was up a penny at $3.75, while December was steady at $3.97 ¼.
Weekly export sales for wheat were down slightly from the previous week but still relatively strong. Bookings of US wheat for the week ended Aug. 7 were reported at 722,846 tonnes, still on the higher side of trade ideas and the second largest of the marketing year. September Chicago wheat fell 3 ¾ cents to $5.03 ½, and September Kansas City was down 2 ½ cents at $5.04 ¼. September Hard Red Spring was steady at $5.18 ½, and September Minneapolis lost a nickel to $5.72.
