Corn futures were higher on Thursday as the USDA amid continued export demand from China.
The USDA announced a flash sale to China for the third straight day, this time for 641,000 tonnes for delivery in the current marketing year. All told, the USDA has now announced sales to China totaling nearly 2 million tonnes over the past three days. An Allendale survey also suggested US producers won’t plant as much corn this spring as expected. Weekly export inspections were on the high end of trade expectations as well. The survey showed intentions of 90.4 million acres, versus the USDA’s initial forecast of 91 million. May corn gained 6 ¼ cents to $6.32 ¾, and December was up 1 ½ cents at $5.58 ½.
Wheat was steady to lower on the day, undermined by the results of an Egyptian tender that confirmed softness in international prices. On the other hand, US wheat export sales came in near the higher end of expectations. May Chicago dropped 3 ¾ cents to $6.99, May Kansas City was steady at $8.19 ¾, and May Minneapolis fell 3 ½ cents to $8.49.
Soybeans were mixed, with the nearby contract higher and new-crop November lower. Some support came from a positive export sales report. May beans were up 2 ¼ cents to $14.91 ½, and November eased a ¼ cent to $13.24 ½.
