Corn, wheat, and soybean futures all finished higher on Monday, with soybeans and wheat seeing particularly sharp gains on weather issues.
Soybeans again drew support from extreme flooding in in southern Brazil where up to about 25 inches of rain have fallen over the past 10 days in parts Rio Grande do Sul, the largest Brazil soy production state after Mato Grosso. Reports say about ¼ of the Rio Grande do Sul soybean crop remains unharvested, with early estimates suggesting potential losses of up to 1 million to 3 million tonnes. Strong gains in soymeal added to the upside in soybeans. July beans jumped 33 ¾ cents to $12.48 ¾, and November was 18 ¾ cents higher at $12.19 ¾.
Wheat futures were weaker overnight on rain for the US winter wheat crop in parts of the US central Plains, but stormed higher on reports of a hard freeze in parts of the Black Sea region. More cold weather is in the forecast, and freezes are expected later this week as well. World Weather said today some winter wheat production potential could be cut in the more advanced crop areas of Ukraine and Russia’s southern region. July Chicago was 26 ¼ cents higher at $6.48 ¾, July Kansas City was up 25 cents at $6.75 ¼, and July Minneapolis ended 11 cents higher at $7.25 ½.
Corn was boosted by the freeze in the Black Sea region, which may have also put barley crops at risk, as well as forecasts calling for hot, dry weather for the safrinha corn crop in central Brazil. July corn gained 8 ¾ cents to $4.69, and December added 5 ¾ cents to $4.88 ½.
