
US grain markets
The markets remained rather stable on Friday, only corn closing slightly lower. The USDA released its weekly export sales report, one day later than usual.
This morning, soybeans trade slightly lower while corn and wheat remain stable.
Corn
The December contract closed 3c down at 365c. It trades this morning around its closing levels.
The CFTC report
In the period from the 3rd to the 13th of November, speculators rose their net short positions by 14396 to a total of 31313 contracts.
The weekly export sales
The 2018/2019 export sales of 892.5kT were up 27% from last week, slightly above market expectations and 95% above the 4 weeks average.
Exports of 1.11mT, down 18% from a week earlier but 1% up from the 4 weeks average, had Mexico as primarily destination.
Other news
Corn harvest in Ukraine is 88% done.
South Korea bought 60kT of US origins for shipping in February.
Soybeans
The January contract closed 3c up at 892c. It trades this morning 4c lower.
Private exporters reported the sale of 100kT to unknown destinations.
The CFTC report
In the period from the 3rd to the 13th of November, speculators rose their net short positions by 9139 to a total of 112113 contracts.
The weekly export sales
The 2018/2019 export sales of 470kT were up 47% from last week and 54% above the 4 weeks average, but were below market expectations.
Exports of 1.36mT, up 27% from a week earlier and 17% from the 4 weeks average, had Argentina as primarily destination.
Wheat
The December contract closed 1c up at 507c. It trades this morning around its closing levels.
The CFTC report
In the period from the 3rd to the 13th of November, speculators lowered their net short positions by 14864 to a total of 50566 contracts.
The weekly export sales
The 2018/2019 export sales of 438.3kT were down 34% from last week, below market expectations and 18% below the 4 weeks average.
Exports of 263kT, down 20% from a week earlier and 35% from the 4 weeks average, had The Philippines as primarily destination.
Other news
FranceAgriMer announced that 82% of the French soft wheat harvest is in good to excellent condition. That’s 2% up from last week but still well below last year’s 97%.
The 2018 wheat harvest in Ukraine is terminated.
Other markets
The main US stock indexes closed slightly higher on Friday. The S&P rose 0.2% as the markets hope coming closer to a compromise in the US/China trade war. D. Trump declared that further tariffs on Chinese products may not be necessary.
Crude oil prices remained stable on Friday but recorded 6.2% (WTI) and 4.9% (Brent) losses for the week. The December WTI trades this morning around $57.00 and the January Brent around $67.20.
The Euro continues recovering against the US dollar. The €/$ pair trades this morning around 1.1400.