Thursday August 15, 2024

• Soybean and Wheat futures rising up from their lows this morning, the Russian missile strike on the key Ukrainian port of Odesa aids rebound
• Beneficial rains are expected through the Midwest, helping corn and soybean crops in the US
• Drought in the Amazon region is more severe than last year
  • This creates a challenge for grain shipments with reduced water levels on the Amazon River.  Shipments may have to split into smaller volumes, reducing efficiency and increasing costs
• Rosario Grain Exchange estimates Argentine corn production in 2025 at 49MMT vs USDA’s estimate of 51MMT
  • Rosario’s reasoning for the planted area decrease is due to leafhoppers/disease and the potential arrival of La Nina this fall
• NOPA will release July crush data today.  The trade is estimating 182.4 million bushels of soybeans for July.  This would be up 3.9% from June and up 5.2% compared to July 2023
• US Ethanol production increased last week
• The US CPI report showed inflation numbers in line with expectations and the lowest since April 2021