Wheat futures continued to rally on Thursday, with corn also higher on the day. Soybeans ended mixed.
After being supported by short covering the past couple of days, the wheat market was underpinned today by good export demand. This morning’s USDA weekly export sales report pegged bookings of US wheat for the week ended Nov. 23 at 622,800 tonnes, which topped pre-report trade guesses. March Chicago wheat gained 12 ¼ cents to $5.98, March Kansas City was up 8 ¾ cents at $6.43, and March Minneapolis was 4 ¼ cents higher at $7.29 ½.
Corn was also boosted by a positive weekly export sales report, with bookings for the week ended Nov. 23 coming in at 1.93 million tonnes, which also topped expectations and was a marketing year high. March was 7 cents higher at $4.82 ¾, and new-crop December 2024 was up 4 ½ cents at $5.12 ¼.
Forecasts for much-needed showers in Brazil’s central production regions beginning this weekend put some pressure on soybeans. However, crops continue to be stressed in the meantime by dryness and high temperatures and the coming rain may fall short in some areas. January beans dropped 4 ¼ cents to $13.42 ¾, but new-crop November 2024 managed a gain of 1 ½ cents to $12.94.
