USDA weekly grain movement: Wheat outpaces expectations

USDA’s latest grain export inspection report, out Tuesday morning and covering the week through May 22, held mixed but mostly bullish data for traders to digest. Of particular note, wheat volume pushed moderately higher week-over-week and bested the entire set of analyst estimates. Corn volume was also relatively strong despite a moderate week-over-week decline. Soybeans were also down from the prior week, spilling to the lower end of trade guesses.

Corn export inspections were mostly solid despite a weekly decline, after reaching 55.0 million bushels. That was also near the middle of analyst estimates, which ranged between 43.3 million and 68.9 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are still trending noticeably above last year’s pace after reaching 1.850 billion bushels.

Japan was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections, with 14.7 million bushels. Mexico, Colombia, South Korea and Guatemala rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export inspections moved slightly higher week-over-week, with 2.0 million bushels. That grain is bound for Spain and Mexico. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year remain substantially below last year’s pace after reaching 69.6 million bushels.

Soybean export inspections were pedestrian after slumping to 7.2 million bushels last week. That was also on the low end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 6.4 million and 20.2 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are still tracking moderately above last year’s pace after reaching 1.629 billion bushels.

Egypt was the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean export inspections last week, with 2.0 million bushels. Mexico, Indonesia, Taiwan and Colombia filled out the top five.

Wheat export inspections were fairly impressive last week after reaching 20.6 million bushels. That was above the entire range of analyst estimates, which came in between 11.0 million and 18.4 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2024/25 marketing year are still moderately above last year’s pace after reaching 781.6 million bushels.

South Korea was the No. 1 destination for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with 4.9 million bushels. Indonesia, Venezuela, Mexico and Nigeria rounded out the top five.

Tags: corn, USDA, export, grain, soybeans, wheat, sorghum