Market Snapshot | February 14, 2022

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Corn futures are around 4 cents lower at midmorning.

Soy complex futures are broadly lower, led by declines of more than $9 in nearby soymeal and 19 to 21 cents in soybeans; soyoil is around 30 points lower in nearby contracts.

  • March soybeans fell to the lowest levels in over a week on corrective selling and profit-taking following last week’s rally to nine-month highs. Early-week price action will be watched closely for signs the market may have established a near-term top last week.
  • USDA reported 1.155 MMT (42.4 million bu.) of soybeans inspected for export during the week ended Feb. 10, down from 1.24 MMT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 1.0 to 1.5 MMT.
  • Drought continues to reduce South American production. Emater, a Brazil-based analyst, cut its forecast for Rio Grande do Sul’s soybean crop by 44% to 11.2 MMT, down from 19.9 MMT in an earlier projection.
  • Large speculators increased their bullish bets in the soybean market in early February to the highest level since May, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report.
  • The managed money net long in soybean futures and options increased 11,827 contracts to 166,315 contracts for the week ended Feb. 8, the highest since the week ended May 11.
  • Malaysian palm oil futures jumped to a record high after India cut its tax on crude palm oil imports to 5% from 7.5% in an effort to subdue soaring local prices.
  • March soybean futures pushed under the 10-day moving average and fell as low as $15.51 1/2, the contract’s lowest price since $15.32 on Feb. 4. Initial support is seen around $15.26, the Feb. 2 intraday low. Upside targets for bulls include the contract high of $16.33.

Winter wheat futures are lower, led by declines of 3 to 4 cents in SRW contracts. Spring wheat futures have turned mostly firmer after a weak start.

  • Winter wheat futures faded to losses on technical selling and spillover from soybean weakness after rising overnight near three-week highs. Signs of easing Russia/Ukraine tensions may also be weighing on prices.
  • USDA reported 435,188 MT (16.0 million bu.) of wheat inspected for export during the week ended Feb. 10, up from 433,921 MT the previous week. Expectations ranged from 200,000 to 550,000 MT.
  • Managed money’s net short in SRW wheat increased 3,100 contracts during the week ended Feb. 8 to 29,552 futures and options contracts, the largest since July 2020, according to CFTC data.
  • China sold 520,183 MT of state-owned wheat reserves at last week’s auction, 99.3% of the volume put up for sale, at an average sales price of 2,590 yuan ($407) per metric ton. China continues to sell nearly all of the state-owned wheat put up for sale, though prices are down from recent weeks.
  • Taiwan tendered to buy 54,920 MT of U.S. milling wheat.
  • March SRW wheat overnight reached $8.13 1/2, the highest intraday price since $8.17 1/2 on Jan. 26, before turning lower. The lead contract gained 34 1/2 cents last week.

Cattle futures are firmer at mid-morning after recovering from initial weakness.

Lean hog futures are mostly higher after rebounding from early declines.

 

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