Futures Prices

Tue Aug 14, 4:45PM CDT
Wheat futures were anywhere from 1 1/4 to 8 1/4 higher today, with SRW the strongest. Improved crop condition ratings and rapid harvest kept a lid on spring wheat buying in Minneapolis. The winter wheat crop was 96% harvested on 8/12 (96% avg), with the spring wheat crop 35% harvested vs. the normal pace of 27%. Most spring wheat states are ahead of their average, with ID and WA lagging. Spring wheat condition ratings were up 1% to 65% gd/ex, moving the Brugler500 Index up 1 to 382. MN conditions were down 4 points, with ND and MT up 2. Egypt’s GASC bought 420,000 MT of wheat from Russia and Romania at their tender.Sep 18 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.41 3/4, up 8 1/4 cents,Sep 18 KCBT Wheat closed at $5.45 3/4, up 5 cents,Sep 18 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.96 1/4, up 3 1/2 cents

Tue Aug 14, 4:45PM CDT
Corn futures settled 4 1/4 to 6 cents higher on Turnaround Tuesday. A slight decline in crop conditions was supportive, and a stronger USD was ignored. The USDA Crop Progress report indicated that 73% of the US corn crop was in the dough stage as of Sunday, with 26% dented vs. the 13% average. All states except NC were above normal pace for denting. Condition ratings were down 1% in the gd/ex categories to 70%, as the Brugler500 Index dropped 2 to 377. The only states to show an increase in ratings were SD and PA, with IA and KS steady. ND conditions deteriorated by 14 points, with NE down 6 and IL 5 lower. Ukraine’s UkragroConsult increased their 2018 corn production estimate by 1.2 MMT to 28.5, moving closer to USDA’s 31 MMT.Sep 18 Corn closed at $3.62 1/4, up 5 3/4 cents,Dec 18 Corn closed at $3.76 1/2, up 6 cents,Mar 19 Corn closed at $3.88, up 6 centsMay 19 Corn closed at $3.94 3/4, up 6 cents

Tue Aug 14, 4:45PM CDT
Soybean futures settled 7 1/2 to 11 cents higher. Nearby soy meal was up $8.30/ton, with soy oil 15 points lower. Reports of Brazilian producers plowing up sugar cane fields to plant more soybeans are being ignored. China continues to pay a huge FOB premium for Brazilian beans that are exempt from the Chinese imposed 25% tariff. NASS reported that 84% of the US soybean crop was setting pods as of Sunday vs. the average of 72%. The crop was rated at 66% good/ex, with the Brugler500 Index dropping 1 point from last week to 369. Conditions improved last week in IN, OH and SD among other states, with ND down 20 points in the Brugler500 Index system and both NE and MO dropping 9. Wednesday’s NOPA report is expected to show 161.745 mbu of soybeans were crushed during July, which would be well above last July.Aug 18 Soybeans closed at $8.64 1/2, up 11 cents,Sep 18 Soybeans closed at $8.68 1/4, up 11 cents,Nov 18 Soybeans closed at $8.79 3/4, up 11 cents,Jan 19 Soybeans closed at $8.91 3/4, up 11 cents,Aug 18 Soybean Meal closed at $335.00, up $7.20,Aug 18 Soybean Oil closed at $28.09, down $0.15