Grains continued to weaken overnight and crude oil was off nearly $1 a barrel.
Day 2 of Pro Farmer’s crop tour were in fields in Nebraska and Indiana. The crop tour projected Indiana's corn yield at 173.42 bushels per acre, up both from last year's estimate of 142.94 bpa and the three-year crop tour average of 165.11 bpa. USDA said yields in the state would average 187 bpa, up from 150 bpa in 2015. The crop tour does not estimate soybean yields but projected the amount of soybean pods in a 3-by-3-foot area at 1,178.41 pods, up from 1,093.08 pods last year and the three-year tour average of 1,166.34 pods. USDA estimated soybean yields at 55 bpa, up from 50 bpa in 2015.
The forecast for Nebraska was 158.60 for corn, below 165.16 in 2015. The soy pod count came in at 1,178 vs 1,093 last year.
Yesterday, Egypt’s GASC canceled its tender to buy wheat. GASC did not give a reason for the cancellation. Cairo-based traders said they were surprised by the decision to cancel after hours of negotiations with several suppliers who had presented offers to GASC.
In international pricing, the recent slide in the US wheat price and losses in the US dollar, combined with a move higher in Ukrainian prices has put the US in a better competitive position. Last month, Ukraine wheat prices were $17/MT lower than the US and today’s values are on par with each other.
Crude oil prices continued to slump this week. Industry data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories had risen by 4.5 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 19. Analysts had expected a 455,000-barrel fall. Official EIA data on inventories will be out later this morning, and are expected to show a modest dip, but that was before API data came in surprisingly large.
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