This Week in Commodities 07-07-2023

September CBOT corn futures shed 1-1/4 cents this week to close at 487-1/4.
December CBOT corn futures shed a 1/4 cent this week to close at 494-1/2.
Favorable conditions look to be in the cards for most of the Corn Belt as the crop nears pollination, cooler than normal temperatures, and normal to above normal precipitation is forecast over the next 10 days.
The USDA will release their July WASDE report next week Wednesday, July 12, there will be major adjustments to the new crop corn and soybean balance sheets to reflect the updated planted acreage figures. The July WASDE is historically (unless planting is heavily delayed) the first month the USDA will adjust national corn yield.
Average daily ethanol production for the week ending June 30 averaged 1.060 million barrels. This was up 0.8% from last week and up 1.5% from last year.

August CBOT soybean futures shed 14-1/4 cents this week to close at 1427-3/4.
November CBOT soybean futures shed 25-1/2 cents this week to close at 1317-3/4.
Preliminary data puts Brazil’s June soybean exports at a monthly record of 13.9 million tons, down 1.7 million tons from May’s high. 70% of the January to May soybean shipments were destined to China.
With rains forecast across a bulk of the soybean producing areas of the US over the next week the potential for improving crop conditions weighed on the soybean market this week.
Weekly export sales came in within expectations, but toward the low end, with net sales of 6.9 mb for 22/23, down 17% from last week’s report and 45% below the 4-week average.

September CBOT wheat futures shed 1-1/2 cents this week to close at 649-1/2.
September KCBOT wheat futures added 18-1/4 cents this week to close at 818-1/4.
September MGEX spring wheat futures added 35 cents this week to close at 847-3/4.
Better than expected wheat yields in both France and the US weighed on both Paris and CBOT wheat prices this week. Dryness in the Canadian Prairie and Northern Plains of the US helped support both KC and MPLS wheat this week.
Food prices continued to slide lower in June helping ease inflation pressures on consumers globally. The FAO’s food price index, which tracks global prices for a basket of staple foods, averaged 122.3 points in June down 1.4% from May’s reading and 23.4% from the March 2022 number, dairy, sugar, and grain prices led the decline.
A meeting between leaders of Ukraine and Turkey to discuss an extension of the Black Sea grain deal took place Friday. They reportedly also discussed a prisoner swap and efforts to end the war. This comes despite Russia insisting they will not extend the agreement that ends on July 17th.

Spot cheese found plenty of buyers this week and the active purchasing worked prices higher in 3/4 trading days this week.
Spot butter remains the darling of the spot markets and finished at $2.48/lb after Friday’s trade, a high price for 2023.
The Dairy Products report yesterday showed butter and whey production higher, while total cheese production and powder was lower, on a year-over-year basis for May.
US dairy cow culling for the week ending June 24th, up 11.1% from the same week last year.

Keegan Madigan