First Thing Today Audio | August 18, 2021
Corn futures saw a mix of followthrough selling and corrective buying overnight, with the latter currently helping the market to trade around a penny higher. Soybean futures are 5 to 8 cents lower, with traders continuing to book some profits after yesterday’s early rally to a 2.5-week high. Nearby winter wheat futures are mostly up 1 to 2 cents. Spring wheat futures are 4 to 6 cents higher. The U.S. dollar index is just above unchanged. Crude oil futures are posting moderate gains.
Scouts on Day 2 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour measured average corn yield potential of 182.6 bu. per acre for Nebraska, which compares to 175.2 bu. per acre last year for the state and 175.6 bu. per acre for the three-year average. Soybean pod counts in a 3’x3’ square averaged 1,226 for Nebraska, which compares to 1,298 pods last year on tour and 1,269 pods for the three-year average.
Indiana samples resulted in an average corn yield of 193.5 bu. per acre, well above 179.8 bu. per acre last year and 174.5 bu. for the three-year average. Pod counts in a 3’x3’ square averaged 1,240 for Indiana, which compares to 1,281 pods last year on Tour and 1,172 pods for the three-year average.
World Weather Inc. continues to expect “significant” rainfall over the next seven days for the Northern Plains and Canada’s Prairies, with the weather watcher saying the greatest rain will come Thursday through Friday. The Upper Midwest could also catch some rain.
China imported 2.86 MMT of corn during July, a 214% surge from year-ago, Chinese customs data released today shows. That pushes the country’s year-to-date (YTD) purchases to 18.16 MMT, an impressive 298% gain compared to last year at this time.
Minutes of the July 27-28 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be released at 1 p.m. CT today and will be scoured for the discussion on tapering of the Fed’s bond purchases that have been taking place at $120 billion per month.
Reuters reports President Joe Biden’s approval rating dropped by 7 percentage points and hit its lowest level so far following the events in Afghanistan. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on Monday, found that 46% of American adults approved of Biden’s performance, down from 53% in a similar poll on Friday.
Risk off trade weighed on a number of commodity futures on Tuesday, and the cattle complex was not immune to the pressure. So far, there has been some light trade in Iowa and Nebraska at $127, up slightly from last week’s trade that ranged from $121 to $126.
Lean hog futures posted modest losses on Tuesday, with traders booking some profits after recent strong gains. The pork cutout value fell $1.23 on Tuesday, but movement picked up notably. The national average cash hog bid climbed $2.64 yesterday.
