Bitcoin ETF Launch Cashes In | FTT Audio October 20, 2021
Soybean futures were supported by followthrough buying overnight, though the November contract failed to push above Tuesday’s high. As of 6:30 a.m. CT, soybeans are trading around 9 cents higher, corn is 3 to 4 cents higher and wheat futures are 1 to 4 cents higher, led by SRW contracts. The U.S. dollar is holding near unchanged this morning, while front-month crude oil futures are around $1 lower.
Heavy, persistent rains in recent weeks have slowed harvest efforts and delayed wither wheat planting in key production regions of China. Harvest is running four percentage points behind average and winter wheat seeding is a point behind normal.
A spokesperson for the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) says the state planner would ensure enterprises get adequate supplies of coal, electricity, natural gas and sulphur to produce fertilizers. NDRC will also take steps to ensure "the release of relevant chemical fertilizer reserves" and closely monitor domestic and foreign fertilizer markets.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Iowa today and Thursday for the World Food Prize and will meet with Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Víctor Manuel Villalobos Arámbula. The issues of GMO corn, dairy and potatoes are likely to be on the agenda for the discussions.
President Joe Biden wants to secure a vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a “public agreement” from Democrats on the parameters of the Build Back Better package before he travels abroad to Italy and Scotland on Oct. 30.
The U.N. said countries’ plans to extract fossil fuels are “dangerously” out of line with the reductions needed to prevent serious global warming over the next decade.
Yesterday’s launch in New York of a Bitcoin futures ETF drew nearly $1 billion in trading volume, one of the biggest fund debuts in history.
New dairy export certificates for the export of U.S. dairy and dairy composite products to Great Britain were implemented Sept. 30, according to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, applying to shipments to England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
China’s customs office has approved beef imports from Russia, effective Oct. 18. China’s appetite for beef has exploded after domestic pork prices surged in the aftermath of the country’s African swine fever outbreak.
Cash cattle prices have firmed $1.28 the past two weeks and there hasn’t been a string of three weeks of cash strength since June, so packers may be reluctant to raise bids again, despite highly profitable margins.
The pork cutout value is down $6.72 since last Thursday and yesterday marked the first time it has been below $100 since March. Movement is strong, but packers are apparently having to cut prices to move product.
