Corn down 2¢. Thursday, September 5, 2024

December corn is down 2¼¢ this morning.

November soybeans are down 6½¢.

December wheat contracts are mixed. CBOT wheat is down 4¾¢. KC wheat is down 3½¢. Minneapolis wheat is up 2¾¢.

Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX, says the company’s September customer survey pegs corn and soybean yields higher month-over-month.

“The national corn yield was pegged at 182.9 bushels per acre (bpa), up from 182.3 the previous month,” he says. “The national soybean yield was pegged at 53.0 bpa, up from 52.6 bpa the previous month.

“The numbers tell us two things. First, they say that our customers did not see significant yield loss from the late-month heat and dryness in the Midwest. Second, they say that yield potential remains high — even creeping higher as crops benefited overall from a primarily mild August, despite the dryness. Problem areas do exist, but there are portions of the Midwest that have extremely good crops that are offsetting the lost production of those problem areas.

“A couple of other private surveys out this week have revealed similar results, increasing the confidence that this year’s crops will be big, creating a significant storage problem if we have a fast harvest, which now appears likely. That will end up pushing more bushels onto the market to keep them moving.

“I’ve previously stated that the market rarely confirms a harvest low prior to becoming comfortable with the size of the crops. USDA will weigh in with official estimates on Sept. 12, but the consistency of the private estimates released thus far communicate to traders that we have a pretty good feel for the size of this year’s crops. Now it’s up to the combines to verify the estimates.”

This morning USDA announced new soybean export sales:

• China is buying 126,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2024/2025 marketing year, and
• Unknown destinations are buying 189,700 metric tons of soybeans for the 2024/2025 marketing year.

October livestock contracts are in the red this morning. Live cattle are down $1.05. Feeder cattle are down $1.35. Lean hogs are down 78¢.

October crude oil is up 38¢.

The U.S. Dollar Index September contract is down to 101.04.

September S&P 500 futures are up 4 points. September Dow futures are down 81 points.

Tags: corn, soybeans, wheat, futures, live cattle, feeder cattle, lean hogs