BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

Highlights The USDA announced yesterday morning the cancellation of 272,000 mts of old crop corn to China. That news and better than expected planting progress, four days without a lower settlement, and a good weather forecast is why corn and beans were so weak yesterday. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN will meet in Istanbul today and tomorrow to discuss the grain corridor deal. CPI (measures inflation at the retail level) will be released this morning at 7:30 Central.

Highlights After trashing the markets yesterday afternoon when she said there would be no government guarantee on 100% of bank deposits, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, had a different story Thursday when it came to the ongoing debate over insuring bank deposits beyond the $250,000 limit. In prepared remarks to a House committee, Yellen repeated that the Biden administration’s actions tied to recent banking meltdowns were “taken to ensure that Americans’ deposits are saf

Highlights Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will testify today and tomorrow before a congressional committee. The market expects him to affirm the Fed Fund rate will peak 5½ to 6% by September to November. The monthly USDA S&D will be issued tomorrow at 11 AM Central Time. The expectations are:

Highlights China's February manufacturing PMI was expected to be 50.5, but it came in at 52.6 this morning, the highest since April 2012... eleven years, Folks! The non-manufacturing PMI was highest since March 2021. An expanding Chinese economy means more crude oil, soybeans, corn, pork and beef. Many of you are looking for a respected market advisor who will tell you to sell your corn, wheat, and beans. We are not going to do it, so Bill Crowder is your man. Bill is a cott

Highlights Mexico has officially scrapped the ban on GMO corn imports for animal feed and industrial use that was due to start in January. Mexico still plans to prohibit glyphosate and GMO corn for human consumption. That human consumption corn has never been a sizable percent of their corn imports. President Biden Administration said yesterday morning another 26 million barrels will be released from Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as Russia cuts production. That and the C

Highlights The Nord Stream Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by Russia’s Gazprom and several European energy companies. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Seymour Hersh, reported last Wednesday that the Biden Administration decided to damage the pipeline to prevent Russia from boosting its income while reducing the dependence of Western Europe on inexpensive Russian gas. Now, four days later, it appears that

Highlights Yesterday’s weekly export sales had soybeans at their lowest or second lowest sales of the marketing year. Before you panic and sell every bean, note that the lowest weekly soybean exports of the marketing year (which began 1 September) is always a month or so after Brazil starts to harvest soybeans. In fact, the lowest sales week of the marketing year usually comes the first or second week of January because Brazil’s soybean harvest usually starts in late December

Highlights The Dollar Index made a ten-month low Thursday and then rallied sharply Friday after the January jobs report stated the US added 517,000 jobs. The market expected only 185,000 new jobs. For any economy to add three times more jobs than expected in one month is blockbuster good news. Demand for goods and services will explode! But, not in the USA... The current managers of the United States monetary policy manage the economy by adding money to the money supply to s

Highlights Brazilian bean market analyst, Eduardo Vanin, reports the soybean harvest in Mato Grosso (MT) is being delayed by excessive rain. Take a look at our rain days chart below to see why; the first three locations are where 85% of Brazil’s beans are grown. A form manager with 270,000 acres in MT reported harvest is only 7% complete whereas normally they would be 30% done. He said it is too early to talk about yield losses and he still expects 3 to 5 bushels more than a

CBOT will begin trading at 7 PM Central Time this evening. Crude oil started trading last evening. Highlights NATO defense ministers will meet on January 20. Ukraine, naturally, wants NATO to increase its support for the war and obviously wants to sway EU public opinion to support continued deliveries of military equipment and money to Ukraine. On Sunday, Russian news service reported Ukrainian agents intentionally destroyed a grain elevator in northeast Ukraine to accuse Ru

Tax Time: Wright on the Market, 8472 State Route 161, Mechanicsburg, Ohio 43044; Tax ID number, aka employer ID number is: 85-3860442 Here is the link for the margin requirements for futures contracts. It can and does change frequently. Soybean margin for speculators was $3350 on Thursday; now it is $3960. If you trade futures, you will be glad if you save this link: https://ww2.rjobrien.com/documents/shared/margins/margins.pdf Tidbits CONAB is Brazil’s USDA. On Friday, becau

After Friday’s normal closing time, CBOT will not reopen until Monday evening in observance of MLK. Highlights The USDA will dump a truck load of numbers at 10 AM Mountain Time today. We do not expect any big surprises, but if there is one (or more) surprise, we expect it will be bullish in the form the USDA will say the US grain inventory is less than the market expects and/or the South American crops are smaller than expected. Any bearish news will be a gift opportunity for

Highlights The World Bank expects global economic growth to be 1.7% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2024 with the Russian economy to contract by 3.3% in 2023 and expand 1.6% in 2024. Goldman Sachs, on the other hand, said the US economy may avoid a recession entirely. They are a lone wolf among Wall Street firms and economic think tanks. For those of you who have been with us for a while, know we have been saying the same thing for several months. Goldman goes so far to say the EU may al

May Wheat: Steady to 1 higher May Corn: Stedy to 1 higher May Beans: 1 to 3 lower Tech Guy’s Comments: Corn and beans continued to show...

Wheat We recommended buying wheat puts this morning. Our clients grow: Hard Spring Wheat traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGE)...