Wheat Ends Trading Week Lower After Estimates of Larger Russian Crop
19 April 2019 - 06:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Kirk Maltais
--Wheat for May delivery was down 0.4% at $4.48 1/4 a bushel on
the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, due to estimates of a
larger Russian wheat crop.
--May soybean contracts rose 0.2% at $8.80 1/2 a bushel.
--Corn contracts for May delivery rose 0.1% at $3.58 1/2 a
bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Muted Trade: The approach of the Good Friday holiday meant few
traders were willing to risk getting stuck with big positions while
the market is closed. "Much of what we are seeing is simple
pre-weekend positioning," said Karl Setzer of Citizens Elevator.
The market closes at its regular time Thursday and will reopen
Sunday evening.
Russian Wheat: New estimates point to a Russian wheat crop that
will be larger than initially expected, growing by one million
metric tons to 79.5 million tons. The U.S. is already struggling to
compete in Europe; increased Russian production could make it even
harder for U.S. sellers. For the futures market, however, wheat
movement will likely be minimal next week, according to Charlie
Sernatinger of EDF Man Capital. "Europe will be largely closed
Monday, and then next weekend we have orthodox Easter coming up,
which will slam the door shut on trading out of the Black Sea," Mr.
Sernatinger said. "Which means trading will be thin again next
week."
INSIGHT
Corn Sales Beat Forecasts: Export sales of U.S. corn exceeded
analysts' expectations, totaling 966,000 metric tons for both the
2018/19 and 2019/20 marketing years and up 76% from the previous
week. The high end of analysts' predictions placed the figure at
900,000 tons. Such sales could chip away at the 2018/19 ending
stocks for corn, which the USDA predicts will reach 2.04 billion
bushels.
WTO Decides on China Ag Tariffs: A decision by the World Trade
Organization that China's tariff-rate quotas on American wheat,
corn and rice violates WTO rules is being praised by U.S. officials
as a victory for U.S. farmers, eventually allowing them better
access to the Chinese market. The decision is in response to an
August 2017 request by the U.S. for a committee to consider this
issue. "Making sure our trading partners play by the rules is vital
to providing our farmers the opportunity to export high-quality,
American-grown products to the world," said Agriculture Secretary
Sonny Perdue. "We will use every tool available to gain meaningful
market access opportunities for U.S. grains and other agricultural
products."
AHEAD
-Trading on the CME will be closed on Friday in observance of
the Good Friday holiday.
-The USDA releases its weekly grain export inspections data at
11 a.m. EDT on Monday.
-The USDA provides its weekly update on U.S. crop progress at 4
p.m. EDT on Monday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2019 16:14 ET (20:14 GMT)
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